


The Augurey

by Storm0fCrows



Series: X-13 [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution
Genre: F/F, Multiple Personalities, Rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2018-09-27 07:46:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9983822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storm0fCrows/pseuds/Storm0fCrows
Summary: In the Universe there exists a balance. Where there is Life, Death must follow. Where there is Destruction, Creation takes root. Samantha Potter thought she existed for the sole reason of tipping the scale against a murderous Dark Lord... she could not comprehend the hand fate had planned for her. X-13 re-write. Fem!HarryxJean Grey





	1. Beauty and Beast

 

_Samantha wound her hand tightly into the mane of the nearest thestral, carefully placing a foot on a nearby stump and scrambled clumsily onto the horses silken back. It did not object, rather it twisted its head around, with fangs bared, and attempted to continue its eager licking of her jeans. She gently rubbed the horse's face, green eyes shined with worry as she looked into those black pools. She felt that the entirety of the year would culminate in the next few hours. She would either save Sirius and expose Voldemort or she would lose her godfather to the man who murdered her parents. Her trembled ever so slightly, not that the thestral seemed to mind with its constant licking._

_Samantha found that if she positioned her body just right she could lodge her knees behind the wing joints, securing her to thestral. Once she managed to position herself comfortably she looked on to her companions. Neville had already heaved himself onto the back of the closest thestral and was attempting to swing one short leg the creature's backs. Luna, on the other hand, was already sitting in place, in a sidesaddle and was adjusting her robe as if she rode thestrals every day. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, however, were still standing motionless on the spot, open mouthed and staring. Samantha cleared her throat. "What?" She asked._

_"How're we supposed to get on?" Ron asked faintly. "When we can't see the things?"_

_" Oh, its easy," Luna slid obligingly from her thestral and marched over to her friends. "Come here…" She pulled them over to where the other thestrals were standing and one by one Luna helped them onto the back of their mounts. The three looked extremely nervous as she wound their hands into each of their horses' manes. "Grip them tightly.' She warned in her usually aloft voice. "It would be a shame to see any of you fall off." Ron skin turned as white as righting parchment he used for his essay._

_"This is mad." He said faintly, moving his free hand gingerly up and down the horses' neck. Mad… if I could just see it-"_

_Samantha leveled an icy glare at her oldest friend. "You'd better hope it stays invisible" She said darkly, Ron had a way of putting his foot in his mouth but she was in no mood for his wit or lack there of. She turned to the rest of the group. Are we all ready, then?" There were five nods, each one tightened their knees around their mounts. "Alright…" Samantha turned her attention to the back of the thestral's black glossy head. "Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance, London, then," Samantha's voice tinged with uncertainty "Er… if you know…where to go…"_

_For a moment her thestral did nothing at all, then, with a sweeping motion that nearly unseated her, the wings on either side extended, the horse crouched before shooting up into the sky. Sam clenched her arms and knees in an effort to avoid slipping off the creatures bony rump. She put her face into the horse's silky mane as they burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soured into the blood red sunset. She was certain she'd never gone so fast. The cooling air slapped her face, with great effort she found that her companions were bent as low as possible to protect themselves from the slipstream. Sam then noticed that they were over Hogwarts grounds and had quickly passed over Hogsmeade, she could see mountains and gullies bellow them. In the falling darkness She spotted a small collections of light and a single winding road, which a single car was beetling its way home through the hills._

_The sky turned dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars, and soon the lights of the Muggle towns were the only clues of how far and fast they were traveling. Samantha's long black hair billowed wildly, but she barely noticed it, her mind was caught somewhere between staring in wonder at the rapidly changing skyline and thinking about the horror How much time had elapsed since she had seen Sirius lying on the Department of Mysteries? How much longer would he be able to resist the Dark Lord. All the young witch knew was that Sirius had neither done what Voldemort had wanted, nor had he died, for she was convinced that either outcome would cause her to feel Voldemort's jubilation or fury course through her own body. It would make her scar sear as painfully as it had on the night Mr. Weasley was attacked._

_She hugged the threstral's neck tighter, silently urging it to move forever faster. She was deaf to the world. She had lost all sense of how far they'd gone; instead putting all her faith on the beast bellow her, whom was still streaking purposefully through the night, barely flapping its wings as it sped ever onwards._

_'If they arrived too late…' She didn't want to think about it._

_Sam's stomach gave a jolt, the beast's head was suddenly pointed downwards. She heard one of the other girls give out a shriek. She twisted her head dangerously but, thankfully, saw no signs of a falling body. Presumably they had received a shock from the change of position. It suddenly came too apparent that they were approaching the ground at great speeds. So with all the strength she had developed while playing Quidditch, she braced herself for a sudden impact, but the horse touched the dark ground as lightly as a shadow. Still in shock Samantha limply slid of the thestral's back and looked around. Like last time she had come to the Ministry the overflowing dumpster still stood a shorts way from the vandalized telephone box._

_Soon Ron landed a short way away, immediately he fell off his thestral onto the cooling pavement. "Never again," he said struggling to his feet. He made as though to stride away from his thestral, but, unable to see it collided with its hindquarters and almost fell over again. "Never ever again… that was the worst…" he moaned. Hermione and Ginny touched down on either side of him. Bothe slid off their mounts a little more gracefully than Ron, though they shared similar expressions of relief at having their feet firmly planted on the ground. Neville was shaking but managed to dismount without falling over himself. Luna, to no one's great surprise, jumped off her thestral with practiced grace._

_Turning towards Samantha, Luna smiled politely and asked; "Where do we go from here, then?" Her soft voice sounded interested, as if they were on some day-trip and not about embark on a possibly suicidal rescue mission. This normally endearing trait grated on Samantha's conscience. If she hadn't been so pressed for time she would have actually argued when they forced her to bring them along. They hadn't faced anything like Voldemort before and nothing they had done in the D.A. would prepare for a confrontation with that monster. She patted her thestral to cover her sigh._

_"Over here." She said leading the way to the battered telephone box and opened the door. "Come on!" She urged when she saw them hesitate. Ron and Ginny were the first to go in followed closely by Hermione, then Neville, and finally Luna. Samantha pressed herself against her and closed the door. "Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!"_

_Ron did it, his arms bent bizarrely to reach the dial. As it whirred back into place the cool female voice sounded inside the box. "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."_

_"Samantha Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger," Samantha said rapidly. "Ginny Weasley, Neville Logbottom, Luna Lovegood… we're here to save someone unless your ministry can do it first!" Her scar was starting to burn, but in her current position she could only grimace._

_"Thank you," the voice said. "Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes." Half a dozen badges slid down the meta chute where returned coins usually appeared. Hermione passed out and Samantha grabbed hers from over Ginny's head._

**_SAMANTHA POTTER_ **

**_RESCUE MISSION_ **

_"Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which its located on the other side of the Atrium."_

_The throbbing pain in her head was adding greatly to her irritability. "Fine!" She nearly shouted as the others looked on quietly. They did not wish to be at the end of her wand. "Now can we move?"_

_The descent to the Atrium felt like an eternity to Samantha who needed something to distract her from the complete darkness and the heat that radiated from Luna's warming charm. Things were tense in her little group for while particularly with Ron. He'd been weird since the Triwizard tournament, growing more agitated as time past. She had first noticed this attitude when she was first introduced to the Order of the Phoenix where he kept his distance and stayed nearer to Mad-Eye rather than Hermione. The year had been rather turbulent thanks to the Ministry installing their "High Inquisitor" so she had chucked it up to stress, Things would have definitely would have boiled over if it hadn't been for Hermione. She'd kept the peace when Samantha would have been happy to end it with a stunner._

_'Merlin's beard, I'm not like this…' Samantha thought to herself._

_A chink of soft golden light hit their feet and, widening, rose up their bodies. Samanthaexpected someone to be waiting for them if not Death Eater Aurors but it was empty. The lights that shined so brightly were dimmed and no fires burned under the mantle pieces, but the golden symbols twisted normally in the ceiling. The only thing they could hear was the rushing water from the distant golden fountain._

_"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant evening." The doors of the telephone box burst open: Sam toppled out of it, followed closely by Luna and Neville. Ginny giggled, which made Samantha's cheeks to redden._

_Pushing herself up she quietly ordered them to follow her to the lift. They sprinted past the security, which was unnervingly empty. She understood that the Ministry had ceased operations but the lack of guards were confirming her budding fears. The group filed into the nearest lift. It rattled as it zoomed in a number of directions before the cool voice called out the floor. They followed Samantha to large black door that stood where they had to go. She abruptly stopped just shy six feet shy of it. "Okay, listen, maybe a couple of people should stay here… as lookouts, and-" She was interrupted by the youngest Weasley._

_"How are we going to let you know when something's coming?" She raised an eyebrow. "You could be miles away, Sam."_

o0o0o0o0o

Sam felt her heart pound right out of her chest.

It had happened a few times in her more often than not they preferred to keep her asleep or at least when the other one was in control. But it was different than other times she was on the floor.

She was lying in some clear, nearly scentless, viscous liquid. Her body rebelled as she slowly lifted herself off the hot metal floor, she looked up as the laboratory was engulfed in flame.

Sam wasn't particularly sure why it was on fire or why the fire suppression systems hadn't already doused the growing fire, but she didn't particularly care. If she were being truthful she would admit that there was a slight spark of joy filled her. She had been trapped in that room for Merlin knows how long.

A not faraway explosion rocked the metal room and forced Sam to cover her sensitive ears. The room wasn't that that big and was sparsely furnished with the exception of a few monitors and of course the glass tank. There were no air vents that she could crawl through, and the floor was protected by layers upon layers of sandstone and rock.

She couldn't claim that she'd been the most cooperative of subjects. Her ice blue eyes narrowed onto the silver colored door that was the only apparent means of escape.

She closed her eyes and willed her spirit out of her body. If she hadn't spent two years strapped in a tube she would have written off such a development as magic, if she hadn't been forced to cultivate these abilities while chocking the magic inside of her, if they hadn't shown her the truth.

The truth being that she had been adopted by the Potters when their own daughter had taken ill, but that was not the truth she spoke of, her biological parents were classified as Mutants. A branch of humanity that was growing faster than the world could accept.

Her father had an accelerated healing factor and retractable claws the men that had captured her called him Weapon X. They had invested so much time and effort into him that they couldn't let his spawn walk free, after all she was their best chance at recreating their success.

Sadly, she had taken after her mother.

Domino was an enigma. Her mutation was much more obvious than her Weapon X's, chalk white skin and psionic powers. From what Sam had gathered from the scientists, Domino manipulated the probability of the world around her in an effort to tip the scales.

After they had realized that they couldn't recreate Weapon X, they realized that she could be so much more. They saw that she had the potential to be their perfect weapon, one that could go everywhere, force comrades to betray one another, or convince their enemies to bend knee.

Sam took this opportunity to look at what she had become. Her once green eyes had become like ice, while her skin that had been pale before was now as white as chalk, and on her left shoulder they had X tattooed in black ink. Her once long black hair was cut just short enough that it could frame her face and be hidden under the helmet they forced her. She was no longer short, as her friends would say, she was 172 cm and her muscles were well defined.

Part of worried that her friends wouldn't recognize her. Mad-Eye wouldn't, Mrs. Weasley wouldn't, nor Dora… Sam shook her ethereal head. Loosing herself to memory hadn't helped her before it most certainly wouldn't help her now.

So she drifted past the door and found a corridor in ruins, bodies were slumped against walls some wore familiar uniforms while others dressed in navy blue uniforms with white boots. There were a few bodies still clinging to life but other wise useless to her.

It was cruel for her to say, but her sympathy for the men and women that had her abducted withered away after suffering through their care.

Sam drifted aimlessly through the cold grey metal halls of the facility, carful to stay close to her body in case it was discovered before she could find a scientist that could open the door.

She finally found a familiar scientist, one doctor Abraham Cornelius hiding in a darkened office. Sam felt her ethereal self smile. Possessing could be as painful or as painless as she desired it, with the experiments he'd conducted on her. She ripped into the spectacled man's psyche.

The mind could be both beautiful and terrifying. It was eternally more than connections and synapsis, it the very thing that made all living things who they were, and it showed perfectly in the good doctor's mind. She saw a man who wanted a better world.

A world where humanity was preserved through transcendence of the species. Twisted as the man was he thought he was doing the right thing, didn't excuse what he'd done, though in fact it made it worse.

As she delved deeper searching for control she stumbled onto things she hadn't even expected to find. There were others like her, Omega Red in Russia, Maverick in America, Phantomex in France, her sire in Canada, but she hadn't expected another Project X.

A completely independent Facility, whose location even he wasn't informed of, had succeeded where he had failed. After twenty-two failed attempts they had created a clone of Weapon X.

A girl with dark brown hair and brownish green eyes, a girl with no name just that crushing feeling of loneliness. A sister doomed to humans worse than the Dursleys.

Sam felt the other one beginning stir, so with a final push she anchored herself to the old man's body. Sam had a vague memory of a training room and suit she could wear. A quick flex of her power revealed its location of the other one's usual apparel.

It was a slow trek across the facility, as she had to put the doctor's mind and avoid the fighting happening all over the facility. With a mixture of luck and her practice avoiding filch Sam had reached the room with 'her' equipment. It was a mixture of intricate polymers and Kevlar, it was mostly black but had two red lines that started at the base of her neck and accentuated her chest. It was divided into five pieces, the arms, the legs, and the torso. She bundled the suit and in Abraham's arms and started the trek back to the lab.

She had almost gotten half-way when an arrow zoomed past Abraham's ear and embedded itself into wall in front of him. "It's rude to hide from your guests, Doctor Cornelius, you'll make Nat and me feel unwelcome. " Sam slowly turned and met the eyes of one of the most beautiful women she would ever encounter. She was standing there in a black cat suit, with striking red hair and stunningly beautiful green eyes. Her stance, at first glance, appeared to be relaxed but once she looked the woman over a second time she noticed her muscles were coiled and ready to jump into action at a moments notice.

Her partner, who had spoken and shot the arrow, was a blond man wearing purple sunglasses. He wore a sleeveless dress that showed his muscular arm and shoulder. In his hand s he had an arrow trained right at the doctor's center of mass.

"Not the time for jokes, Clint." The red haired woman said. "Fury wants the egg head as soon as possible."

"Come on, Nat, you've have to admit those HYDRA goons were very irritating."

There were a few more lines of banter the two exchanged before giving Abraham their full attention once more. Sam had taken the opportunity to ponder a way to escape the two agents that had found her before it came to her.

Sam jumped into the archer's body and forced him to smash his bow against the back of the woman's head. She then had him ram himself head first into the closest wall. Once she was expelled from the man's body she possessed Cornelius once more.

It dint take her long to reach the lab where they kept her body. A simple voice command "Logan." And the door opened, her body just stood there, her now blue eyes empty of life.

She let go of Abraham's body letting it crumple to the floor like a puppet with cut strings and got dressed.

The suit clung to her like a second layer of skin, but was other wise comfortable.

Once she was dressed stepped over the doctor's body and proceeded to find the exit. Which son felt like impossible task as the facility was much larger than she had originally expected, it was labyrinthian in design and massive in scale and as much as she wished to be done with the place she could barely make heads or tails of the layout.

That was until finally she found herself in the garage. There was a small number of men in navy blue uniforms guarding the place, but they proved easy to get by.

She made her way into the closest armored vehicle to the exit and once inside she moved into the passengers seat and got ready to 'burn the rubber' as Mr. Weasley might say. The vehicle roared to life with a strong blast of sound that drew the fire of every man in the garage.

Sam ducked while pressing her foot on the gas pedal, the car shot forward and out of the garage.

Sam didn't dare look until it was too late. The vehicle smashed into the water with so much force that Sam hit her head against the stearin wheel.

The world was quickly swallowed up by darkness.

o0o0o0o0o0o

Samantha opened her cold blue eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. A quick glance told her that she was no longer in the facility but that offered little in the way of explanation. The last thing she remembered was being placed in the tank after another successful training session.

She looked down and noticed she was wearing her combat uniform, which was highly irregular.

Samantha looked out the vehicles windows and noticed that for some reason she was under water and instinctually her training kicked in. She closed her fist and out of her knuckles came out three, ten inch long metal claws that she had hidden in her forearms. She looked them over once before ramming them into the bulletproof glass as if it were wet clay. Once she removed her claws she swiped across it to allow the water to poor in faster.

She repeated the action until there was a large enough hole for which she could escape through. Samantha pulled herself out of the vehicle but stayed under. There were lights that barely breached the water's surface dancing above her, simple deduction led her to believe that they were searching for her. Slowly she swam away from the vehicle and deeper into the swampland.

Once she was ten kilometers away from the armored transport Samantha headed for land.

Samantha felt lost.

Clearly the other one had a plan but had fail thus causing her emergence, which was troubling since she was not privy to the information. How many days had it been since she had escaped? Where was she? Where did she go now? All good questions, with no good answers.

So, she trekked on through mud and plants while searching for the most probable plan that would keep her out of HYDRA's clutches. She would need clothes to blend in and an identity that had little connection to Samantha Potter as she possibly could.

Samantha was so embroiled in thought that she barely had time to react as she stepped onto paved road. She jumped as soon as she felt the heat of the headlights reached her suit, but it was already too late.

She smashed into dark brown pick up truck's windshield, the glass splintered as it imparted her right side. With her left she protected her head when she skid against the cool concrete but the pain was similar to that time she'd fallen of her broom in her third year… during the storm. But before she lost consciousness Samantha heard a heavy southern accented voice coming from the car.

"Oh, my God." She asked. Samantha could barely focus on anything but she did notice the patch of white hair on the girl's face. Before she could reply the pain became too much and she blacked out.

o0o0o0o0o0o


	2. Oracles & Auguries

_When Sam opened her eyes she found herself resting on a field of bones. The sky was red as blood and the air polluted by ash._

_She knew the place well._

_It was her escape, her reprieve from the madness that surrounded her. It was place where she could revel in the pain of what had once been her most strange life, because sadly it was all she really had._

_In the distance she could see the smoldering ruins that had once been her home, but between there and where she stood was a forest, a dark and most dangerous place where even she dared not tread._

_And so walked aimlessly by it's edge._

_It wouldn't be long before they came for her and she would have leave this safe place… least they find it. 'They will never hurt us again.' The Other's voice echoed from within the forest, it's hollow tone hiding it's beastial nature, but she new better._

_She paid it little mind… all it ever did was offer her hollow comforts._

_Eventually she came across a lake._

_Sam had once emerged from its frigid black waters, surrounded by memories of things that had once been close to her heart. It was as if her own mind was trying to seduce her._

_She waited for them, standing still as the water reached her ankles. The waiting would always be the worst part._

_The black water shimmered and swirled revealing memories best left forgotten. Particularly she could see the wide-eyed fifteen year old self kissing her once beloved Dora. Sam watched as Dara enveloped her in her strong arms trying, clutching her with such strength that Sam had been convinced Dora wanted to merge their bodies._

_And in a way they did. They joined in lust, seeking comfort in each other's bodies in the wake of tragedy._

_Love could capture eternity in an instant yet I could never sooth the burns of rejection._

_Sam didn't flinch when the memory shifted into the next time she would see Dora. How the metamorph hung to had been waiting for her near the park where Dudley and his gang of hoodlums had started teasing her about Cedri let her down with sweet words that ran like honey coated daggers through her heart._

_Sam wondered if she had just grown too numb to the pain or had the Other One shouldered it for her._

_She sat still watching calmly as the images shifted to happier times, a time she shared with friends; a time where she felt alive. She watched Hermione and Ron sitting together at the Quidditch pitch cheering her on, her attention drifted ever so slightly to the golden snitch that hovered just out of reach. Her own hands glanced over the water trying to caress her friends._

_She wondered if they still thought well about her…_

_She failed to notice the still water rippling ever so slightly, the distortion was to small for her distracted mind. The creature that emerged took the form twisted woman, her naked chalk white skin was covered in bleeding cuts, her soft blue eyes held little light, and the black ink markings that framed her face were faded._

_The Other One swam around Sam lazily_

_"Hello." The Other One greeted in a tired, raspy voice._

_"Hi." She greeted lamely._

_"What happened to us?"_

_"I saw a chance to escape and I took it."_

_"Was that why we were trapped in the car?" The Other stopped swimming and stared at Sam blankly_

_"Yep," Sam said popping the p._

_The Other's eyes narrowed and her normally blank face became a scowl. "You could have died." She hissed._

_Sam watched her damaged duplicate with a bit of annoyance. ""I had to get us out of there! Their base was under attack, and who knows what the new ones were going to do with us!"_

_"You should have given me control."_

_"And what?" Sam growled. "Let you bring more attention onto us? It's not like the DMLE is the only group out to get us; we have to worry about the Death Eaters, and now HYDRA too."_

_"You left us defenseless." The Other pointed out. "What if they'd taken our body? You would have faded into nothingness or become something worse."_

_"I stayed close."_

_"That never stopped them from hurting us." That got a reaction out of Sam._

_Sam wildly took a swing at the Other's but missed, instead hitting her right shoulder._

_"Neither did you!" Sam shouted, the resulting shock wave was enough to force the Other out of the water. Her copy landed on its feet and glared at her "You let Abraham put that bloody helmet on my head!"_

_It wasn't long after her capture that the facility discovered her magic. They were fascinated by it, amazed by the endless possibilities that could come with such power, until they discovered that they couldn't control that aspect of her. It was then, that they began drawing the Other One, with a series of words that would push Sam into depths of her ruined castle._

_The helmet in question was designed for sensory deprivation, or so Abraham claimed, they would place over Sam's head and every time her magic spiked volts of pure electricity would rip through her body. The purpose for the helmet became clear after one of the scientists deactivated the Other and forgot to securely fasten it, accidental magic ripped him to pieces._

_The Other looked at Sam for a moment before fading away in a cloud of green fire, leaving Sam alone to drown in her memories._

_She was always alone._

o0o0o0o0o

'The world is much too bright.' Was Sam's first conscious thought after the car crash. She groaned as she pushed herself off her uncomfortable resting place, keeping low to avoid injuring her self with the vehicles low roof. She kept her hands firmly planted over her eyes and nearly tripped over what she assumed was an errant piece of wood. She cursed under her breath and tied to come uo with a way she could escape the vehicle without her magic.

Had she been more attentive of her surroundings, at the moment, she would have known the rugged surface that she had been resting on was not the armored truck's synthetic leather chair, but a silver air mattress… placed in the center of a rather plain living room. Nor would she have ignored the fact that she was dressed in a black tank top and loose grey pants and not the Other's suit.

"Are you alright?" A woman's voice came from behind her. Sam turned to find a woman in a mustard yellow shirt and dark sunglasses sitting in a brown chair. Sam took a step back, her blue eyes wide with fear, she prepared to strike. "There's no reason to be afraid, Samantha Potter." The woman tried to placate. "You're safe here."

Sam felt the Other slither across her subconscious, ready to jump in at the slightest provocation. "Who are you?" Sam demanded. "How do you know my name?"

"My name is Irene and you are in my home." She answered, showing her empty hands in a gesture of peace. "There are things I simply cannot explain at moment, but know that as long as you remain here, you will be safe from those that hunt you."

"Right," Sam scoffed. "because you'll be able to stop them."

"I never said that I would have to stop them." Irene said in too calm a voice for Sam to feel entirely comfortable with. She studied Irene, the woman was far too calm for a person who had a potentially dangerous stranger in their home. It took her a moment to come to the obvious conclusion, but when she did she couldn't help but take another step back.

"You're a Seer."

There was a subtle shift in the woman's blank expression, but in all honesty Sam had never been empathetic, she blamed Aunt Petunia for that character flaw. "Not in the way you know them, but yes I am a seer, of sorts."

"What do you mean by 'of sorts'?"

"As is said before, there are things that I simply cannot explain." There was a pause and Irene clutched her head in pain. Sam, though weary of Irene, couldn't stop herself from clasping the woman's arms in an effort to hold her steady.

As soon as Sam touched Iren she was sucked into the blind woman's mind, and what she saw both terrified her and amazed her.

She held no form as she watched what she could only call beings of power danced in the desert. There were two birds composed entirely of flame, one as bright as the sun, while the other sported green and black flames. It was undoubtedly beautiful, yet it was the ground below that truly frightened her. Shadow fought shadows in a war that seemed to have no end.

Irene was quick to untangle herself from Sam, cutting the vision just as the bird began their beautiful song. "The child of prophecy approaches, born of those who have thrice defied him… born as the tenth month dies…she will be marked with the greatest fire… The Starchild shall suffer in days of future passed… a Memory of what could come and what has been… born to the white kings lost pawn… the deathbird's chosen and the life bringer avatar. She will-" Irene's voice came as a whisper but felt like a thunder cloud to the young witch, whose head felt like it was going to crack open. The older woman cut herself off and sat down.

"Are you alright?" Irene asked, trying to catch her breath. Sam didn't immediately respond, she was so shaken by what she had seen that she hadn't even heard the prophecy that had escaped the older woman.

With a bit of coxing Sam finally nodded.

Irene sighed. "Things will be clearer in time, you'll see." With that, Irene made her way out of the living room.

Sam looked around the living room, finally taking in her surroundings. There was a portrait hanging on the wall, it showed two women dressed finely, one was clearly Irene and the other a Sirius looking woman with shoulder length red hair, flanking a young girl.

She could almost feel the sense of family coming from it.

It was the only thing that made the house feel like a home and not the hollow grave that was Grimmauld Place.

Sam sat down on the inflatable mattress and waited.

She wasn't exactly sure what exactly she was waiting for, for the Aurors to find her? No, magicals had a need for dramatics and she was in no mood for them. Was she waiting for Abraham to wake the Other one and experiment? Maybe. It all felt so… improbable. That a seer would find her in the middle of a lake and kindly bring he to her house and to top that the seer was blind?

Sam wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry…

"You're awake." Sam shot up fro the bed and tensed. The voice's owner was a young woman with the palest skin that she had seen, on anyone beside herself, and a white patch splitting her dark brown hair "Whoa, geez, it's okay, you're safe." Her accent was thick like in those documentaries her uncle liked to watch on Thursdays.

"I'm in America?" The realization hit her harder than the Whomping Willow smacked Mister Weasley's car in second year. 'They took me to America!'

The gothic girl looked at her strangely, as if she weren't particularly sure what she was supposed to say.. "Yeah, Mississippi, if you wanna be exact." She paused, her face "My name Anne Marie, but everybody calls me Rogue, thought you might want to know the name of the gal that hit you with her truck."

Sam, in her nearly panicked, took Rogue's offered hand and shook it violently. "Just call me Sam."

A goofy smile spread on Rogue's face. "Can I get you anything or call anyone?"

"No, no, I'm fine."

"Well, if you're sure, I'll be in my room, holler if you need anything." With that uncomfortable interaction out of the way, Sam was once again left alone in a strange house with nothing left to do but wait for anything that could tell her where to go from there.

o0o0o0o0o

Albus Dumbledore had never felt so tired in his long dreary life.

In the last two years the world had changed, and not all for the better.

Lucius Malfoy's horrific death at the hands of Samantha Potter had shaken many prominent Dark families on the Wizengamot. As a result they sought retribution and Cornelius desperately agreed.

A moderate victory had come at a terrible cost, the Ministry wished to charge young Samantha

While Albus agreed that any loss of life was a tragic affair, he thought blaming a child for defending herself was simply atrocious. Even with fair Amelia Bones, who was the Director of the DMLE, there was little she or even he could do to protect poor Samantha against the might of an enraged Ministry.

Samantha Potter disappeared after former Minister Fudge placed out a warrant for her arrest. Sadly, it was only after her disappearance that the truth came out from a rather unexpected source.

While Rita Skeeter yellow news had more often than not been a thorn in everyone's side, Rita was a bloodhound for scandalizing stories and Lucius Malfoy life was riddled with them, being a Death Eater being the least of them. The public quickly against the Ministry when the Daily Prophet revealed the many sizable donations Lucius gave to Cornelius whenever there was a vote of consequence.

A week later the warrant was revoked yet still young Samantha was nowhere to be found. Nymphadora was inconsolable for some reason that Dumbledore couldn't fathom, until earlier in the day, Samantha seemed smitten with the girl but he had been certain nothing came of it.

She had isolated herself from the rest of the Order, instead spending her time with her widowed mother.

No longer did the Metamorph's hair shift into bright colors, now she preferred darker shades of blue.

Amelia had become Minister and quickly mounted a joint offensive with MI13 and scattered Voldemort's forces. He escaped them, of course, only Samantha could defeat the powerful dark lord.

With his forces scattered a game of shadows took the stage. Duels were fought with words, battles were no longer large scale, and Voldemort had hidden away in such a place where even Severus couldn't follow him.

The day had started like any other day leading up to a new semester, with Minerva ordering the staff around and Hagrid clearing the forest of dangerous creature that came too close to the school grounds.

All was well until Andromeda Tonks stormed into the room intent on talking with him.

Andromeda had always been a rather intimidating woman, looking more like Bellatrix than most people would be comfortable with, and she could be just as deadly if threatened.

As such, he attempted to placate the woman whenever he had the pleasure of her company.

"Andromeda, what a pleasant surprise." He said pushing a plate of lemon drops towards the clearly irate woman.

"Did you know that my daughter was messing around with the Potter girl?"

"Oh, dear." The headmaster murmured, as if the final piece of a vexing puzzle had finally fallen into place. "Are you certain?" But there was a part of him that wanted to deny what he'd heard, while he could accept that it may have happened it more than likely made the search for Samantha Potter much more difficult.

"Nymphadora finally admitted it to me this morning, when she came over for breakfast. Now answer the Merlin-be-damned question!"

"I most certainly did not, the Miss Potter was much too young to be attempting such activities."

"The girl was almost sixteen, Albus." Andromeda said in an unbelieving tone. "I married Ted when I reached majority, do you honestly believe that I went to my marriage bed a virgin?"

"Let me guess, Miss Tonks believes that she is responsible for Miss Potter's disappearance." It wasn't until after the words had left his mouth that he noticed the obviousness of his statement.

Andromeda laughed.

It was not a pleasant laugh shared between friends but a laugh meant to mock. "Your powers of deduction astound me." She salted the wound with her sarcasm. The glee in her eyes quickly faded and once more her face became a mask of indifference. Her dark eye locked onto Dumbledore's and leaned over his desk. "What are you doing to correct this?"

"I have exhausted all possible resources in Northern Europe. I have Remus scouring Italy and Hestia in Bulgaria. Though I have a distinct feeling that she might be somewhere in the Americas."

"Why isn't that avenue being pursued, Albus?"

"We are having difficulties with The Magical Congress and the Order doesn't have the man power." Albus watched as the gears moving behind the Tonks Matriarch's eyes. Albus was certain that if anyone could manage to find a way into North America it would be her

Andromeda while disowned by the Blacks was most certainly still very much a Black in character, when she was still in Hogwarts she had made close friends with many key families on both sides of the Wizengamot. If she called in a few favors she could probably get an Order member within the year.

"And the warrant for Samantha's arrest?"

"Amelia promised to dismiss the charges whenever Miss Potter decides to come forward, Andromeda." It wasn't exactly a lie, but he couldn't risk losing Andromeda support. He was sure that he still had enough sway in the Wizengamot.

"If I do this, and I mean if Albus, I want you to promise me you won't involve my daughter." There was an unspoken threat in her, had Andromeda been anyone else he would have dismissed it as needless bolstering but there in was the problem, Andromeda was a powerful witch politically.

She could very well burry him.

Albus smiled softly and said. "I swear."

With that Andromeda seemed satisfied and left with a simple "We will talk again."

Once he was alone in his office he turned to Fawkes and sighed. "The plot thickens once again, old friend?" The once proud phoenix bobbed his head and let a sad trill escape.

Albus looked out his stained glass window, frowning.

The actions he was certain he would have to take left a bitter taste in his mouth.

o0o0o0o0o

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, onto explaining how it Sam's mutation works. It's not that the two personalities have manifested different abilities, it's just that the two personalities have no idea how to access them.
> 
> I decided to bring the markings back. When Sam's in control the makings aren't visible, but when Samantha takes control microscopic nanites darken the pigment under her skin… like the Hounds in days of future past.
> 
> Be sure to check out my other works and I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Until we meet again.


	3. Omen of Change

 

Samantha stood at the edge of the water, watching the life that swam beneath the surface with acute fascination. The moonlight reflected off her skin giving her an ethereal glow, giving her the appearance of a short-haired phantom haunting the swamp lands surrounding the small town of Willow's Rest, Mississippi. She was clad in only the underwear her host had shared with her. It was clear night and she could see for miles around her… the nearest human being was miles away.

Willow's Rest had an estimated population six hundred, the lack of people made it impossible for her to blend in. It went against every facet of her training, which was perfect when she came to think about it. The organization responsible for her current state would, no doubt, be searching for her in larger towns or cities, places where she could blend in with population with perceived minimal effort.

They hadn't factored in the possibility of a sympathetic variable that would provide aid and shelter her in their own home. Needless to say, they never considered the smallest possibility of a precognitive mutant predicting her escape at some point in the past and orchestrated encounters up in her moment of need.

Samantha had been honestly surprised when she'd clawed her way out of their shared subconscious and her counterpart hadn't been able to figure it out, as if that vision of fire and blood hadn't been enough of an indicator that the woman was some kind of seer, more powerful than Treleway ever was. Her vision shook the mindscape filling the red tinted sky with birds of fire and covered the land in figures of shadow.

It was terrifying experience that nearly allowed her to emerged while the Other was still in control. It had shaken the barrier between the conscious and unconscious by shifting the minds reality in ways that she did not believe to be possible.

Irene, the seer, had illuminated the forest with her brief presence, the bones that littered the ground dissolved, and Samantha could feel a connection with the Other that they had not shared since her creation.

It had brought a sense of completion and with that sense of completion Irene had exposed her to a scent unlike any other. Like the trigger scent her former captors had exposed her to it had robbed her of the ability to create a coherent thought, unlike the trigger scent it invoked desire instead of rage. It was powerful attraction on such a primal level that Samantha doubted the Other had noticed its presence.

It had been that scent that brought her to the center of the swamp, she'd been overcome with the need to be surrounded by life.

So, Samantha simply stared at the fish, insect, and reptiles that swam under her reflection.

The cool summer air caressed her skin, yet her body maintained its heat. She took the opportunity to plan for the hunters HYDRA would send after her.

' _The Facility won't send X23 for at least a year…'_ She thought to herself. _'She's far too unstable, but the Sabertooth would gladly hunt me.'_ Samantha had seen the man only once, from behind a one way mirror and she easily recognized a predator when she saw one. They had a slew of other hunters available but only those two had a chance to recapture her. Omega Red was more likely to kill her than anything else, while Kimura had a fear of the Other that would deter her from completing her mission.

The only thing Samantha could do was wait for them to come for her.

And when they did... she would be ready.

o0o0o0o0o

Sam wasn't prepared for how quickly her friendship with Rogue had blossomed. After her little episode, the younger goth had kept Sam at a very comfortable arm's length and she was fine with that. Sam had never made friends easily and after what happened in the Department of Mysteries she was all the more hesitant, but being stuck in a small house for two-maybe-three weeks had made it nearly impossible for them not to interact.

Especially when she considered the location of her living space. The living room connected with every other room. So, no matter what they did the two would be in a close proximity to each other. Sam knew that this was part of some design orchestrated by her host.

And despite Sam and Rogue's reservation, Irene's plan eventually worked. Their friendship started to form when Rogue popped the Dracula film with Gary Oldman and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Sam had never seen the film before and Rogue took great pleasure in watching the film with someone besides her mother.

In the next week she'd learned quite a bit about Rogue.

Rogue turned out to be very much like Hermione, in the sense that they shared a literary obsession, but her tastes were much more limited. Sam learned that like herself Rogue was an orphan and that Irene and some other woman had adopted her when she was barely three. In turn, Rogue learned a "Muggleized " version of her own history.

Sam used most of her uncle's cover story except without using Saint Brutus Secure Center for the Incurably Criminal and instead used the school Hermione attended before coming to Hogwarts, Snow Valley Boarding School. She retold what she remembered of the campus and added pieces from Hogwarts that made the tale sound more personal.

The young witch told her about Ron and his obsession with a loosing sports team; Hermione and her beautiful mind; Neville and his loyal, strong, and courageous heart; she told Rogue of the twins and their intricate pranks; about Luna and her great imagination; and she told her about Hagrid, the friendly groundskeeper. Sam kept Sirius to herself, but she did mention Tonks. She down played Nym's importance to a mere fraction of the truth, in her tale the often-pink-haired metamorph was simply an older student whom she was very close too.

Once Sam was invited into her room, she witnessed Rogue's obsession first hand. Rogue had a vast collection of penny dreadful reprints and hardcover novels ranging from Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ and Sir Arthur Doyle's _Study in Scarlett_. Her walls were absolutely plastered with a collage of band posters, ranging from _Massive Attack_ to _Nightwish._

Admittedly, it was fun learning about Muggle culture.

After awakening covered in filth and stinking like she'd been dragged through a bog, Rogue had invited her to a High School party hosted on one of the few restaurants in the sleepy town of Willow's Rest. So there she was, standing in Irene's living room dressed in a dark purple halter top with long violet gloves, a skirt that was three inches too long and the boots from her combat suit.

Rogue entered the room in her usual green blouse, black top, and choker outfit.

"Ya ready for the party?"She asked a slightly nervous looking Sam.

"I've never been one for parties…" she admitted in a low voice.

Well don't worry about it, if you don't like we'll leave and Ma will never be the wiser."

"if you say so.."

"Come on." The taller teen said ushering her to the door. "What could possibly go wrong?"

o0o0o0o0o

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter that was meh at best.

Next chapter: Rogue Recruit..


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Rogue Recruit (Part 1)

Sam lost herself to the music.

She had closed her eyes and moved to the music like an angry specter. Her monochrome scarf flayed about as she danced as sporadically as the song that was being blasted by the punk rocker themed band, whom Sam hadn't bothered remembering their name. She could feel the music rippling from within, vibrating through her bones, and urging her to dance like the girls from Beauxbatons did when the Weird Sisters came on stage during the Yule Ball.

The young witch had lost track of Rogue two hours into the party, Sam vaguely remembered her mentioning something about 'needing som' air'. She understood the need to get out of an enclosed space better than anyone, but there was something in the atmosphere that made her want to stay in the center of the mob of bodies. Maybe it was the singer's enchanting voice or the guitarist's smooth transition through the notes of the song.

"Who am I now?" The pink haired singer shouted into the microphone.

"Don't let me touch you, 'cause I might just take you down!"

The "club", for lack of a better term, was packed with teenagers most smelled of Willow's Rest but there were a few that smelled of other places. None of them stank of the sterility of the Facility or the sickness of that one man who'd attempted shut the project down.

She would have been thankful, had shutting down the project meant her death.

"Who am I now?

'Good question.' Sam thought to herself. There were gaps in her memory, whirlpools in her lake that could not be viewed no matter the how hard she concentrated. The Other refused to even look in the whirlpools or even speak about them in their few scant meetings.

"A tough decision, that keeps on comin' 'round."

At least she was enjoying herself, but that didn't really last long as the paranoia that she'd missed something started to set in. She had missed something before and it ended costing her two years of her life.

Over the summer of 1996 Sam had developed a love for trains. Well, not for the trains exactly…it was in a way for the mystery that each one presented. Each train had her meeting new people, a section told stories, and every station was a new adventure. But by the time the sun would fall she always find herself in a small café in Surbiton Station, with a cup of hot chocolate reading whatever nonsense the Daily Prophet, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't find the name of one her friends in the obituary. She had never suspected that she was being watched.

Looking back, it should have been obvious. Every time she got stopped in Surbiton there would always be a man in a black suit at the station, it was always a different man but the mannerisms were the same, she got off the train, he'd tap his ear and get on. That was until the middle of July when there wasn't a man at the station and that was when She struck.

Abruptly Sam stopped dancing and began looking around the room. She couldn't see Rogue but she could vaguely distinguish her scent from the rest of the plethora of smells and hormones emanating from the teens surrounding her. It was a pleasant enough scent for a human, citrusy and salty covered by a flowery perfume. She followed the smell through the dancing crowd that had formed around her, to the back of the club, and towards the terrace.

There were two teenage boys in red letterman jackets, probably from the local high school. They were excitedly discussing some muggle sports until the blonde one spotted Rogue leaning against the wooden rail, looking at the distant lights beyond the calm lake as a small breeze pushed by. The blonde stopped so suddenly that his dark haired friend couldn't stop in time and bumped into him.

The dark haired boy grunted, looked pointedly at his friend but noticed the stunned look the blonde had on his face, and smiled. Sam stopped under the door frame, unsure how to get past the duo.

"Body snatchers. That's the only explanation, man. My good buddy, Cody, is now a pod person. Gone in an evening from bad to sad, flame to lame. Nurse, he's coded! Personality paddles, stat!" The dark haired boy looked at the blonde with a smirk.

"Oh, come on." The larger, muscular, blonde teen complained to his pushy friend dark haired friend. "Ah'm just, you know, picking my moment, taking it slow."

Oh, how Sam sympathized with the large blonde. It had taken her most of her time in Grimmauld Place just to hold a decent conversation with Tonks without her cheeks flaring. Sam rested her against the wooden frame, observing the all too familiar scene unfold.

Her first semester of her fourth year had been subject to many of her classmates' invitations to the Yule. At the time she'd found it to be mortifying and she was sure that Rogue would feel he same.

"Cody, I've seen glaciers move faster." The dark haired teen admonished. "There she is, the girl you've been staring at all week." He gestured towards her. "Please tell me you at least at know her name..." The newly named Cody shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "You lame-o!" He shouted into his palm left palm, before grinning Cody. "This ends now." The dark haired on grabbed his friend by the shoulders and pushed him towards Rogue who had been trying her best to ignore them.

"Come on, Ty I-" Cody began to protest but was cut off by a clearly irate goth, who had her arms crossed under her chest glaring at the duo.

"Can I help you?" She asked with pronounced disinterest.

Cody looked back at Ty looking for support but all he received was a measly thumbs up. "Uhh... Dance!" Cody suddenly blurted. "I-I mean, would you like to?" Sam couldn't stop the smile that crawled onto her lips. The boy was clearly nervous, it was apparent in his stutter and how he stumbled through the sentence. "With me, that is. Together."

Rogue shook her head lightly taking in a breath. "I'm really just hanging out here and..." Sam saw her falter as Cody's shoulders slumped dejectedly. Rogue bit her lip and looked away as she often did when she was mulling over something in her head. "Aw, hey, why not?" The younger goth sighed, giving in to his request. "After all, where's the harm in one dance?"

Cody suddenly brightened and offered her his hand. Rogue looked at him skeptically and hesitated for a moment, but she did take it. The large blonde boy then proceeded guide her towards the dance.

It was then that Rogue finally noticed Sam. The short witch sent her reassuring smile as they passed by. The blonde's friend also noticed her and her smile and sent Sam a cheesy smile she'd seen often enough when her Aunt Petunia spent the afternoon watching Happy Days reruns and sporadically muttering 'Americans' whenever a character did something remotely silly.

Taking another page from Beauxbatons, Sam shook her head lightly walking away towards the terrace. Ty frowned as she walked past him without a second glance but he quickly recovered intent on watching Cody woo the girl or fail horribly. He looked over Sam once more before ducking back inside.

Once Ty was gone Sam allowed herself to relax, she allowed her arms to rest on the wooden railing. She stood there silently looking out into the large lake, whose water was so still it reflected the star filled sky and the waning moon. A sudden impulse had her projecting herself over the water.

Sam's astral self flew over the water and for the first time since she'd been snatched she felt absolutely free. It felt as if she were going faster than a broom, faster than thestrals even.

She zoomed just above the surface; she dipped her hand into the water and just like her smile fell. She couldn't feel anything in her current state, not unless she possessed a body or she returned to her own.

The once enthusiastic witch dejectedly floated to the center of the lake. She wondered what her friends Ron and Hermione were doing at that very moment…they'd would have graduated by now. Had Hermione already joined the Ministry? Had Ron joined a Quidditch team? Or had the war consumed them as it had consumed Sirius?

Her musings were interrupted when she felt something akin to a blanket or a shroud pass overhead. She felt it stop and return to her, she felt foreign excitement seep into her thoughts. For the longest time it hovered at the edge of her mind. Sam felt the new and unfamiliar presence move ever so slightly deeper into her consciousness.

Sam was quick to push the presence back. Between Voldemort and the Other, she had enough beings in her head. Her blue eyes glared at the formless entity that was watching her with an analytical gaze.

The young witch was prepared for the presence to attempt another intrusion. What Sam wasn't prepared for was the jolt she felt coming from her resting body on the terrace, a jolt that pulled her back into her physical body at a speed that Sam could barely process.

Sam was nearly knocked over by the sheer shock of her violent reentry. It took a moment for her body to register her return, there was a moment of pure numbness before her nerves awoke in an explosion of sensation. It was like jumping into the Black Lake near the end of a rather chilling winter. The pale witch shook off the numbness and made to move into the club, but stopped when the matter of explaining why they had to leave.

A feeling wasn't a valid explanation and Sam wasn't sure if it was a magical entity or a very powerful mutant; or if Rogue was aware that her mother fell in one of the two categories.

As it turned out, Rogue was leaving anyway. The younger goth had barreled past the short haired Ty, faster than Sam thought she could move, while looking panicked and confused.

Sam took off right after, but not before she heard Ty mumble something that made very little sense. "Whoa, I thought Cody was the only one who could move like that."

o0o0o0o0o

In Bayville, Charles Xavier had watched with fascination as a newly discovered mutant projected herself over a small body of water near the town of Willow's Rest, Mississippi, but now he sat contemplating what he'd just witnessed. Charles was resting his chin on his hands as he did.

It had been pure luck that he had stumbled upon her, he had yet to run into another telepath since his first encounter with Jason all those years ago, let alone one so young and with so much potential.

He couldn't get a solid mental imprint of the girl, as she'd pushed him out far too quickly for him notice any significant details. He remembered being in a dark forest surrounded, the floor littered with bones, and the sky was a bloody shade of red, he had also caught a glimpse of something that had greatly disturbed him, a fracture.

Three years ago he'd come across something similar, when he and Ororo had gone to visit the household of John and Elaine Grey. Their eldest daughter, Jean who at the time was fourteen, had just witnessed the death of her childhood friend, Annie Richardson. Charles theorized that Jean had felt the life leave her friend body and that in an effort to protect itself her mind splintered ever so slightly.

What he saw was far more severe than a simple splintering, he had seen the same kind of cracks in only one other individual…and Logan had not been the most stable member of his first X-Men. A telepath with the same kind of mental scarring could potentially prove devastating if left unsupervised, or worse if Erik got to her first.

Charles was about to exit Cerebro when it detected a second mutant a few feet away from the telepath. This one was far easier to read than the other, there was clear split in personalities, which indicated a very disturbed mutant.

The urgency of the situation doubled in an instant.

He would need all his X-Men before the night was through.

o0o0o0o0o

It wasn't long before Sam caught up Rogue. The younger goth was on the road by the time she'd reached her. Sam could feel the fear and confusion coming off of her, The witch feared that her friend would managed to hurt herself if she didn't stop her.

After a moment of consideration, Sam, ignoring every instinct that she'd developed as a Seeker, tackled the manic Rogue. Rogue twisted in her arms so she would land on her back and clasped the purple sweater she'd leant Sam for the evening.

Brown eyes met blue and within them Sam couldn't see any recognition.

"It's me!" Sam shouted at the struggling body under her. Rogue's sleeve rolled back as she tried to push the shorter girl off, "It's me!" she shouted a bit more forcefully than intended

Sam knew that she was physically stronger, so she rationalized that if she could pin Rogues quickly she would have an easier time getting Rogue to calm down. The moment her bare hands touched Rogue's wrists, her body tensed as she felt the energy be sucked right out of her.

For the briefest of instances, Sam felt her magic but that feeling was quickly overshadowed as her body began to spasm. Her body locked in place waiting for the enormous amount of electricity to be pumped through her body.

Rogue was overwhelmed by the amount of information that was flooding her brain. She saw people that Cody had never met, a school she'd never seen, a woman with hair that seemed to change by the second, and wonders that she couldn't have possibly imagined. Then she saw people in green uniforms pumping her full with metal, she then felt the overwhelming levels of pain and suffering that she had been exposed to, and overwhelming rage.

Soon enough Sam's body fell limp at her side, too drained to even twitch, while Rogue rose up with elongated fangs. Snarling, she grabbed the older girl's body by the purple sweater and dragged her to the thick tree line.

Once they were surrounded by forest, Rogue dropped the unconscious witch onto a soft patch of dirt and continued on her way toward the only place she considered to be safe.

Home.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Rogue Recruits (Part II)

Betad and edited by HowlnMadHowie

o0o0o0o0o

By the time Logan was dropped off at the lake where Chuck had first detected the two mutants, he was having second thoughts about bringing the brats with them. Sure, Jean and Scott could probably handle whatever the two could dish out, Jean could hold off the telepath while the Professor neutralized them and Scott could take out pretty much anything at arm's length… but Pryde and the Elf? They hadn't trained nowhere near enough to be let out of the school let alone be brought on this type of mission.

But apparently that wasn't for him to decide, since Chuck was grooming Cyclops for leadership he got to make the call. Logan was all for teaching them lessons but there was line that he wasn't eager to cross especially after what happened to the first team.

Logan looked back at the back of the van and eyed his two charges. Kurt was too busy trying to woo Kitty to notice that the car had stopped moving while she was far too eager to get away from him that she hadn't waited for Logan to survey the area before she phased through the passenger side door.

The Elf was quick to follow suit.

All he could do was groan and wait till they got back to the mansion to lecture them about following orders... if he managed to keep them alive long enough for that to happen that was. So, with a grunt Logan unhooked his seat belt, got out of the car and started examining the parking lot. He ignored Kitty's protests and Kurt's less than subtle hints and focused on the different scent and what they could tell him.

Logan could tell alot with his nose, mostly he could sniff out the stench of fear when he popped his claws but he could tell so much more than that. He could smell excitement, hesitation, arousal, the works, which would be fine if he weren't living with a growing number of mutant teens, their hormones flew though the entire spectrum of emotion at least five times a day.

At least he could be thankful that that part of his life was blank, he couldn't imagine himself giving sprouting a boner a new meaning.

Logan chuckled at his own joke.

The kids looked at him oddly.

"Excuse me, Lo- I mean Wolverine," Kitty started but hesitated when she saw that his attention was on her. "I was just wondering if you could, like, tell us what we're doing here?"

"You're here to watch and hopefully learn." He told her as he crouched next a few specks of blood and a strand of green cloth near the middle of the road. "I'm here to track the mutants."

He could tell that that she didn't know what to make of that, especially since she stayed quiet. He didn't particularly enjoy people like Pryde, talked too much in his opinion but the world seemed so be full of them, so, he tried not to complain.

The blood was still moist so it was plenty fresh, it stuck closely to the black pavement, closer examination revealed small flakes of skin which could indicate that whomever they belonged to had been tackled to the ground and in the ensuing struggle they clothes had ripped or the more likely story considering the locale would be that they had drunkedly stumbled once leaving the bar, but there was no evidence to support that.

He groaned as he brought the piece of fabric to his nose. There were a few scents that clung to it but only one stood out as stronger. He was sure both were female, one that was local while the other smelled strangely like… metal and sterile air, as if she'd been living in hospital for years.

"Could they be the mutants?" He murmured to himself, there was something about that second scent that had him on edge. It was a familiar scent but it was equally foreign to his senses … almost as if he'd run into it before in a distant memory. Logan was tempted to simply sum it up to another mystery the gaps in his memories wouldn't help solve.

"Did you find something?" Kurt asked him, popping up way too close for his own safety.

"Think I did." Logan responded without looking at them, instead he raised his head and sniffed the air. "but it's too soon to tell." One thing was for certain, he couldn't risk bringing the kids along. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a large white security camera

"Pryde phase into the bar and see if you can find anything on their security cameras." He then turned to Kurt. "Elf, keep a look out, I'll be back in twenty."

"And where are you going?" Kitty asked with a slightly annoyed tone that he really didn't care for,

"Just do what I say." With he stood up and pulled the cowl over his head. "Don't follow."

The two mutants watched as Logan walked away and disappear into the dark, foreboding tree line. There was a minute of thick uncomfortable silence between them that was only interrupted by the occasional snap of a twig in the distance. Kitty was the first to walk away, but Kurt… he stayed stark still and waited till his pointed ears couldn't hear Logan anymore and then turned to Kitty who he caught phasing through the front door.

"Auweh!" he said scratching the back of his head with his gloved right hand. Kurt knew that if he followed Logan he'd undoubtedly be in trouble, but… he'd seen that look before, the one in the older mutant's blue eyes…

He had seen that look in the eyes of the people who'd seen his blue covered face, he saw it in Kitty often whenever he got too close… which was exceedingly saddening considering that she was just a much a freak as he was. Out of all of them, she was the only one who showed her fear so overtly which was partially the reason why he tried so hard to impress her, to make her look beyond the fuzzy man.

If Logan was afraid there was something seriously wrong and he wanted to be there for his teacher. Out of all of them, Logan was the only one, besides the professor and Storm, who didn't look at him at any different than any of the other's at Xavier.

In a way, he felt like he owed Logan to at least try to help.

o0o0o0o0o

Samantha awoke with a start, though her muscles felt heavy.

She couldn't feel the Other One and that frightened her. Without her there was no one to protect, no reason to fight, no reason to hold back her seemingly endless wrath. In her head she was already cataloging every scientist she had ever encountered, every project she'd overheard, and base she'd ever spotted on a screen.

But that all halted when the significance of the Other One's unexplained disappearance hit her as brutally as X-23 did when drugged with the trigger scent.

Without her Samantha was simply chaos, every second without her counterpart was another moment where she could feel herself slip deeper into madness. She could feel the loss of control and move beyond the pain that the Facility had inflicted onto her.

She was falling and she had to slow her descent.

It was then she heard it, a soft yet sharp voice that seemed to cut into her head like honey coated daggers running across the length of her body.

"Once upon a time, beneath the ancient stars of night, a prince found a girl who lived amongst the bones of the dead. A rare and dangerous creature, gathering to her all manner of darkness…' Samantha screamed she clutching her head as it flooded her senses. The real world peeled away and was replaced by a twisted mockery of her head space. The surrounding trees shriveled and their wood bent and darkened, and the gentle black sky shifted into a dark shade of red, that looked eerily like blood.

'A wicked girl.' The voice whispered so close to her left ear that she could feel its breath on her skin, which prompted her to strike wildly with her long, sharp claws.

Tragically, her claws connected with nothing but the wind. 'A lovely girl.' He whispered in the other and once more she struck, but this time she felt a weight fall onto her forcing her into the ground

'Born with murder in her blood. She should never have been found.' Light sorrow filled its tone but she could feel its hunger. 'The prince, you see, was not a good man, he was not good because he was lonely.'

From her pinned position on the floor Samantha watched the shadows slinked away from the trees and ad pooled together into a puddle. She fruitlessly tried to struggle while the shadows took form.

To her horror, Samantha could not help but compare it to the rebirth of Voldemort, as the dark being took the form of a frail looking creature made of the darkest pitch.

'Driven to do desperate things in the name of his heart. So for his heart his heart he decided to play a game,' The creature's black hands gripped Samantha's shoulders drawing her in. Her claws cut the infinite number of tendrils that dragged her into the shadowed body, but no matter how quickly she cut nor how many she severed . '…and take her…' The pull became stronger until she could see nothing but complete and utter darkness. '… and take her…' until the darkness pulled her in, drowning out the world of scarlet starlight. 'Until she was his…'

For a moment, Samantha lost the will to continue her fight and gave in to the creature, but then she smelled something that sent her into an irrational and savage rage. Her anger was so hot that the false world shattered revealing a man in an orange and blue suit.

She knew that scent better than she knew her own and with it she could identify him anywhere. There merely two meters away was none other than the man responsible for all her suffering, the man who had brought her into the world and had then abandoned her, there stood Weapon X.

The next sound that escaped her was roar and with it…

She charged.

o0o0o0o0o

Sam was trapped navigating a hurricane of thoughts and memories. Some belonged to herself, others belonged to the boy who had asked Rogue to dance, and some belonged to the girl whose headspace she was currently wandering through.

It was an empty place, much like her own, but it would have been beautiful had it not been for the storm ravaging the artistic Gothic landscape. It was a town, much like the Hogsmeade, but instead of wooden houses there were complex, yet small stone buildings. The sky was an intriguing shade of blue, and the earth was covered glimmering snow.

But that didn't matter much to Sam, who was still trying to figure out what exactly had drawn her into her friend's head and rescue her if need be. As the luck would have it, Rogue was not particularly hard to find as she was located in the heart of the storm in the center of the town but helping her would another matter entirely.

Sam rushed in as soon as she spotted her friend collapsed on the ground. Rogue was screaming and thrashing as her appearance shifted sporadically, taking on traits that made her look like some chimera between herself, Sam, and Cody.

The shorter girl pulled Rogue close and tried to calm her, but despite her best efforts Sam realized that all she could do was wait out the storm.

o0o0o0o0o

It was pretty easy to follow considering the difficulty Chuck was having narrowing down their location, there wasn't any evidence that they were trying to cover up their trail in fact it felt like it was too easy and had the professor said anything besides the word unstable Logan would have considered that he was walking into a trap.

But the drag marks indicated that at least one of the two was wounded or had been disabled, so he wasn't prepared for a real fight nor was he ready for what he found. Even so, Logan was careful to avoid being downwind from the trail.

He walked for nearly ten minutes before he came upon a clearing, but that wasn't what stopped him in his tracks.

In the center of that clearing was a girl whose skin was so pale it seemed to glow under bright moonlight, and from the knuckles three familiar metallic claws spouted and shimmered as she seemed to swing them at nothing before freezing up and collapsing onto the floor.

The next thing he did was rather stupid on his part, without a care for the telepath he circled the clearing and approached the girl. In his head there a thousand and one questions popping up so he didn't notice the wind subtly shift.

It took her half a second to open her eyes, another half to stand up, and less than a quarter of one to let out an a roar and charged. The girl in her fury jumped into the air once she was three feet away Logan was unprepared for the brutal onslaught that that he was about to face.

"Easy now," He tried to placate. As he dodged her pounce with a well timed side step. "We don't have to do this the hard way." He was forced to duck as she sent one wild at his neck, meant to separate his head from his body, "It doesn't have to go down like- " but was caught by surprise as her other claw ran across his chest. Using her momentum to her advantage the girl then flung a wad of dirt and mud at his freshly opened wound.

"Will you knock it off?!" This time she aimed low and nicked his thigh and just like before she threw dirt into it. "You know I'm just gonna heal like-" Logan jumped back this time snarling as her claws grazed his arm. "The dirt stings, kid but I ain't gonna die from any infection."

"You don't want to listen." He growled touching the patch of his blood that was slowly dripping from his chest. His wounds weren't closing . "Fine."

"I'LL MAKE YOU LISTEN!" With that said his own claws shot out from his knuckles and he was ready to engage.

He was sure the girl could heal.

o0o0o0o0o

A/N: Here's another chapter, hope you enjoyed.

In this chapter, i wanted to show why Samantha needs Sam, and introduce a villain who will be plaguing. i also wanted to introduce Logan into the mix and show how Sam's presence causes changes to the X-Men Evolution universe.

Once more, id like to see if anyone would like to help Beta a few of my stories (mainly Blue Horizon, my Avatar the Last Airbender fic or/and Consequences of a Note my Dishonored fic) PM me if you are interested.

With that out of the way, I'd like to clear something up since reviewer brought it up. I don't use blood adoption, it's just not my thing. It's a cheap trick I've seen far to many times that has no real connection to the source and, i don't know, it just feel rather boring. That being said I've read a few works that actually manage to pull it beautifully and if the story calls for it, I am all for it.

But this isn't one of those works, because honestly one doesn't need to share blood to be family.

and muggleborns are a thing.

But that is just my opinion, and should hold no sway on your own.

As always, please review and be sure to check out my other works.


	6. Rogue Recruit (Part III)

Chapter 6: Rogue Recruit (Part III)

Mutation.

It is the key to human evolution, it is what enabled man to evolve from a single celled organism into the dominant species on the planet Earth. This process is slow, taking thousands upon thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution abruptly took leaps forward and sometime those leaps had disastrous consequences.

Charles Xavier had spent most of his life working towards the harmonious existence of normal human and their rapidly multiplying, more evolved cousins but there were times he doubted he could keep mutants secret for long. It had taken him years to find another mutant, even longer for their combined efforts to prove fruitful and find another. He, eventually, was able to form a team of these extraordinary mutants, his first class. But in the span of two years he had discovered eight new mutants where as ten years ago he had barely met six. This growth exponential growth wouldn't go unnoticed for long, especially if Mystique and her new Brotherhood had their way…

Where Charles saw the possibility for cohabitation, Raven saw only an enemy to destroy.

He'd seen the cost of war, its horrors, he was not eager to see children continue his and Erik's battle. His first team had worked tirelessly to combat Magneto, with each skirmish costing the lives of old friends. until only Ororo, Hank, Logan, and he himself remained. With Magneto gone and followers scattered, Charles was free to establish his safe heaven for those who wished for it and those who needed his help.

This was motivation enough for Charles to sit in the back of a white van while viewing the hospital through Jean's eyes. His second oldest student had limitless growth potential, but in her current state he was certain that she would be quickly overtaken by the telepath. The telepath he felt at the time was in a state similar to the one Charles had found Logan all those years ago, a human mask hiding bestial rage beneath its surface, but where his Wolverine could only damage the body, this child could kill the mind. He simply could not allow his student to engage an opponent they were in no way prepared for.

He had a plan to keep his students away when they found their target. He would send Jean and Scott to aid Logan's team, they would be stubborn but Scott would be easy enough to convince, he just needed to remind him of his duties as a leader and Scott would fold, Jean on the other hand was far more complicated.

Charles had taught only the things he knew she could handle and she took everything taught to her well, but she had never faced anything she couldn't handle. This had made her ignorant of her limitation. Ignorance, he feared that would be endanger her and the lives of those around her.

So, with his eyes closed, Charles shifted his focus completely into Jeans mind. He absorbed every detail from the yellow paint that adorned the walls to the smallest of irregularities in the people's thought patterns. He scanned half a dozen nurses, doctors, and bystanders before finally uncovering the location of the boy who collapsed.

'I'm approaching the room, Professor.' He heard Jean's voice echo in his head. Through her eyes he saw a rather muscular boy, with blonde hair lying unconscious on the hospital bed while his friend sat in vigil. The boy stood the moment Jean stepped through the threshold and into the room.

"He'll be okay, right?" He asked softly, his voice laced with desperation and guilt "You'll help him?"

Charles could feel the empathetic smile form on his student's lips. Her vision dipped slightly, which indicated to him that she had nodded her head. "Yes, we will

Meanwhile Scott was resting his head on the car's steering wheel, he didn't need to be psychic to tell that the teenager was bored and at his wits end. "Is this really necessary, Professor?" Scott asked tiredly, clearly the inactivity and long flight had taken its toll on the young mutant.

"Yes, Scott." He responded, not opening his eyes instead using Jean physical connection to the telepath's victim to access the bedridden boy's splintered mind. "The boy, Cody, is the key to finding our rogue, but he's unconscious and his mind is elusive. To isolate his memory patterns I need someone on the inside." He hoped Scott understood and would be patient with their slow progress.

"If you say so, professor." Scott responded, a quick mental scan revealed that he accepted his words for what they were and that it was not doubt in Charles that stemmed young Cyclops' question instead it was simply boredom, which Charles could completely understand.

It wasn't difficult to isolate Cody's memory patterns with Jean so close to the boy, but that was the easy part. Now, Charles had to sift through the memories to find a place he thought of as safe.

Cody found freedom on his school's football field. Courage at school, where others admired him for his strength and skill. Excitement beside his loyal friend… the list of emotions went on and on until he reached the boy's most basic of instincts, fear and pain. Whenever Cody was hurt he would urge those around him to take him home, where his mother could treat him. He found sanctuary in his room, where his Father regaled him with stories of his on past glories.

It was such a simple answer, but it was one that Charles had glossed over. He had forgotten that he was dealing with children, not Erik's fanatics. Those men were soldiers, who had spent years learning their powers, not teenagers discovering their destructive potential for the first time.

Now, all he had to do was find his address and they would be done with the hospital.

Charles sorted through the mess of memories and thoughts until he caught a glimpse out of a second floor window. From there, Charles saw a balding blonde man standing next to a rusting mailbox that read nineteen and two houses down he saw bright green sign that read Millwood Drive.

"I have it." He told Scott who perked up. "Move us to the entrance."

'Jean, meet at the front of the Hospital, I found the mutants location.'

'Sure thi-.' Was her response before the link was suddenly interrupted by by a wave of psychic energy the likes he'd only ever felt once before.

o0o0o0o0o

Samantha was in constant motion as she engaged Weapon X. Every time he lunged or swiped at her, more and more blood spilled onto the glistening grass that seemed to glow under the beautifully fat moon. He was raging at this point but no matter how strong his healing factor grew to be the dirt in his wounds would prevent them from closing.

At the beginning of their battle she found him to be a completely different fighter than what the Facility's data suggested him to be. He had been careful, calculating, and dexterous, but that had changed when her claws tore into his brow, ripping his mask and impairing his vision, that was when she saw the real Weapon X.

The Berserker, but it was too late.

He'd lost too much blood and that made him slow. What had once been a flurry of brutal strikes that she'd barely managed block the brunt of, was now slow, sloppy attacks that she could easily evade. Samantha knew that if she could draw out his suffering, so he could get a taste of the hell that the Other One suffered because of Him.

Weapon X tried to a slow sideswipe with his right claw, that she saw coming from half a mile away. She ducked under it and for her efforts she was rewarded by being skewered by his left with an uppercut that connected with her abdomen right under her heart. She snarled in pain to witch he responded with a growl of his own.

Samantha could feel the blades running her straight through her chest and poking out of her back. For half a second, Samantha was stunned. She'd been too confident, she had thought that in his current state he wouldn't be dangerous but she had been mistaken. Her face contorts as the pain explodes from her chest. She saw something akin to a sense of victory twinkle in his eyes. It was momentary but it was enough to spur her into lashing out.

Like a phoenix descending onto a basilisk, she sunk her adamamtium claws between the scapula and the Clavicle, and once her knuckles touched the bulging muscle that were Weapon X's shoulders she pulled out and slammed back in.

He howls like a wounded beast but she does not stop until he flings her away. Samantha smashed into the tree trunk near the edge of the clearing. Upon impact, Samantha's breath was knocked out of her but she never let her eyes leave him.

She could tell he was done as he fell to his knees. the wounds near his neck weren't closing as quickly as they should. The more blood on the floor meant that there would be less adrenaline inside his body and the amount inside him was being pushed to the extreme. Samantha used the tree to help her stand back up.

She was breathing harder than usual but that doesn't stop her from shambling towards her downed Sire. She's too angry to notice the holes in her chest closing up, or the faint stench of sulfur coming from behind her. She suddenly broke into a sprint and jumped to give an extra little impulse that dove her knee into his face harder than he had expected her to.

He fell back with a horrid sound of metal crashing against metal. "…" He tries to focus his vision. "Kid… I'm starting to think you've got a beef with me." She then pinned him to the ground by placing her knee onto his bleeding and wounded chest. Samantha dug her right claw right above knee. Her face was a mask of hot fury as she heard him tiredly groan. But before she could end Weapon X her world was engulfed by and explosion of smoke.

The only warning she had from the interloper was a startled exclamation of: "Oh Scheiße." And then she found herself dropped from high in the sky. As she plummeted she saw a blue furred creature crouching over Weapon X's downed form before poofing away in a black cloud. Samantha didn't have time to react to this new development as the earth rose up to meet her.

The sheer force of the impact was enough to simultaneously knock the breath out of her lungs and displace her shoulder.

Samantha was in no condition to go after her Sire, not when there were other potentially dangerous mutants with him. Not when the Other one was still missing… the problem was that she had no idea where she had disappeared to. Whatever it was that had trapped her in that bone orchard had only done it because the Other one was absent. Her telepathic ability shielded them and from the data she had been fed in the Facility, she knew that the Other could not possibly survive long enough outside their body.

It was then she heard a cry coming from the horizon. It was pained scream of a bird she had only seen once and even then she had not been present for its warning of coming rain.

Samantha was then sent flying back. She crashed once more against the same tree knocking her out cold and toppling the already damaged wood.

o0o0o0o0o

Sam watched the storm grow while clutching Rogue close to her chest. Memories represented by homes were devoured quickly as the personalities fought for control. The blonde boy's memories were fading from consciousness while Sam's own remained steadfast. Hogwarts stood in the distance, dark and imposing while it stood surrounded by blackened clouds.

"Who am I?" Rogue asked for what felt like the thousandth time and by this point the witch knew the she couldn't be heard. Her only hope was to reach the sanctuary that was the castle, but before she could even approach begin to drag the girl she was stopped as she felt another presence enter Rogue's mind.

The presence arrived in a cacophony of whispers and then came the shattering cold like she had never felt it before. It briefly reminded her of the night she had first met Sirius but worse. Sam avoided thinking of those black-cloaked monstrosities, as the presence grew closer. Sam carefully lifted Rogue over her shoulder and tried to sprint away towards the distant castle.

"Why do you run?" The deathly voice asked. "Does my mere presence alarm, my pet? No, that cannot be. I was there for your conception and we have met so many times since. But even then I do not remember your name. My name is Death. I meet so many people, of course, that it is quite impossible to remember all their names… but I should remember yours. What is your name?"

Sam was compelled to answer. "Sam-" she hesitated, it dint feel right to use her full name, it didn't feel right for some reason.

"Potter." Death finished as she stepped out from a crumbling memory. She dressed in a robe so dark that no light escaped it. Her skeletal body approached them slowly. "Of course, but is it really? Howlett seems much more true now that you've stopped using your magic, or maybe even Thurman… but Potter is such an old name, my Augurey, that I feel you have yet to deserve, maybe once you find my cloak I'll consider calling you that, but that will not be today nor will it be tomorrow…"

"You're not taking her." Sam said defiantly.

Death simply laughed. "Do you really think that you could stop if I wanted the girl?" She already knew the answer to that particular question. "Of course not, but as tragic as it is, I need you to live so I'm sending you back to your body."

With that said Death rose her bony hand and sent a pulse through Sam's form sending tumbling though the raging storm and out into the night. She flew bast the city streets in a haze, until she finally reached the forest. There she flew past a fuzzy blue man, with a tail and pointed ears tugging a man in an a bloody orange and blue costume away from something, and finally she saw the Other standing in the clearing, her body was healing wounds but in the instant before they crashed she noted the ripped dress and bloodied clothes that belonged to Rogue and briefly wondered what exactly happened while she was away.

But none of that mattered as reentered her body. She felt the sting where it had met the now toppled tree. She staggered towards the she knew main road was and decided that she would need to convince a driver to get back to where she'd left her friend before Death took someone she cared about once again.

o0o0o0o0o

A/N: and here's chapter six. It was originally longer but due to my hardrive dying had to rewrite an it came to be this. I really hope you enjoyed it, sorry for the delay but i had to wait to repair my computer.

Still looking for a beta if anyone is interested.

Be sure to check out my other works.

and Happy trails


	7. Rogue Recruit (Part IV)

Mystique was not pleased with her daughter's sudden awakening, she had hoped that she would have another year before Anna Marie was dragged into their world, but this wouldn't stop her from making sure that Xavier never got his hands on her.

It wouldn't be particularly hard to scare the girl off.

Charles' had surrounded himself with mutants whose powers her arsenal could easily mimic and her impression of Logan could convince anyone. So, as she ascended the stairs towards the room she shifted her appearance to match that of the orange and blue clad berserker she had come to know seventy years ago. When she reached the top of the stairs she stopped and wondered what kind of woman her daughter had become in her absence…

Mystique never thought of herself as a good person, lot alone a good mother, but she would not allow her child to be poisoned by the naivety that Xavier preached nor would she allow him to drive the girl to her death with is toxic idealism. With her resolve firmly in place she kicked burst through the door snarling like a ravenous beast.

She had expected a million different scenes when Irene had told her about the other mutant Anna had come in contact with… fire, tremors, ice, but she the thought of seeing her daughter bleeding from the knuckles as three bone like claws poked out of her had never crossed her mind.

How could she have ever predicted that there was another one like him…

Anna was momentarily stunned by the Mystique's entrance but recovered quickly, and ducked through a window before she could even a threaten the girl.

"Fuck." Mystique cursed while giving chase. This development could ruin everything she and Irene had worked so hard for! Changing would be ultimately useless if the Mutant had Logan's sense of smell. Irene had told her that the girl was a telepath, that ability was something that she could have exploited to disorient Anna.

Mystique landed on the grass with a roll and jumped over the fence as she had assumed the panicked had done, in her desperate attempt at stopping Xavier from catching what could possibly be the most powerful mutant there ever was, she had failed to notice the slightly ajar toolshed door or the bright green piece of cloth that hung on a piece of shrubbery.

o0o0o0o0o

For the first time since joining the X-Men Kurt Wagner was truly scared.

He had honestly never considered the mission that the Professor had tasked them truly dangerous, not even when they faced Avalanche and rescued Kitty. It felt like he was doing some good… helping people like him… well maybe not quite like him and giving them a home, and if things became too much they always had professor Logan and Ororo to help them out.

But as he carried the rapidly fading Wolverine through the door of the closed restaurant he realized he was wholly unprepared for the dangers his new life exposed him to. Logan had always seemed like unstoppable force and yet he was now near death thanks to a mutant a year or two older than Kurt.

"Kitty!" Kurt called out desperately as he appeared between the bar and the dance floor. He was lucky that Shadowcat had followed Logan's orders and was currently surveying the restaurant.

Kitty was unfortunately looking out the window when the sudden and unexpected bamf, followed by the overwhelming stench of sulfur that quickly invaded her nose.

"Where have-" Kitty turned on her heels ready to tell the blue elf off but as she caught sight of her favorite instructor. "OMG! What happened?!" It was a demand that Kurt neither minded nor acknowledged as he began putting pressure onto one of the larger gashes on the Wolverine's chest.

Now, in the short span of time Kurt had known Kitty, she had avoided him like the plague because of how he looked… which wasn't very conductive to the ladies-loving-the-Fuzzy-man-theory that he had going on… but that didn't matter now that she was ignoring it in favor helping him try to save Logan's life.

Kitty phased through the bar grabbed two bottles of Vodka and an arm full of towels before crouching over Logan parallel to Kurt.

"Grab a bottle and pour it on the cuts." She ordered him while doing as she just said. Logan opened his eyes when the clear liquid made contact with his still bleeding wounds but his body had lost far too much blood to react in any other way.

Kurt didn't hesitate to do what he was told. The alcohol washed away the dirt that was smeared into his tissue and before long they could see the damage begin to mend albeit much slower than it would usually would.

"It's working!" Nightcrawler cried out joyfully.

Kitty slumped back in relief and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, "Good." Was the only thing she said for while as her pounding heart slowly retuned to its normally soft rhythm. With the back of her hand she whipped away a few beads of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead and with another sigh she rose and moved away, pulling out the communicator the Professor had given her in the same fluid motion.

"I'm calling the professor." Kitty said curtly before phasing though the wall towards the rear of the restaurant over looking the lake. "We need back up."

Kurt nodded his head in agreement but otherwise kept his mouth shut, if Logan hadn't been able to stop the girl he doubted a fall would do much against her either.

o0o0o0o0o

Everything ached and for the life her, Sam couldn't figure out why… the clothes Rogue had leant her were torn as if she'd been mauled by some kind of animal but there weren't any wounds on her, or at least none that she could see in her rather hasty self check. Before the Facility took her Sam could attribute quick healing to a plethora of spells, charms, potions, and herbs… but the lack of exposure to magic made it unlikely that she had, even with her incredible luck, run into a something of the like.

The mere thought of magic caused a few of her muscles to uncomfortably flinch, but she ignored it in favor of focusing her control over a half drunk man who had propositioned her as soon as she exited the forest. It wasn't exactly the most moral thing Sam had done since escaping the facility but her knowledge on the workings of Muggle vehicles cars hadn't exactly done her any favors in the recent past and influencing a weak mind was much easier than learning how to drive 'stick'.

She was currently seated in the passenger seat of an old Ford pickup that at one point or another was grey but was now completely covered in rust. There was a large camper connected to the truck. They drove through the winding streets of Widow's Rest fast enough to show that she was in a hurry but not fast enough to garner the attention of law enforcement. Every once in a while, Sam would tighten her control over the driver's mind just enough so he couldn't and wouldn't do anything too stupid… which was saying something considering she was on her way to take on the incarnation Death over a girl she had only known for a few weeks.

They zoomed past the local hospital and for a split second the young girl's world froze in place when she briefly spotted a green eye, red haired girl about her age step out of the hospital clutching the side of her head. Around her was a fiery red aura that pulled on something within Sam.

Sam could almost swear that she felt two souls rattling wildly within the scarlet haired container. One felt distinctly human and completely unrelated to the fiery aura that was engulfing her entire form… but the other was almost magically alluring. She confusion and fear radiating from both, but one of them was due to disconnect from what Sam could only assume were the girls allies and the other felt like a creature that was half waking and half on the verge of falling back to sleep.

The young witch shook her and looked away, because if she hadn't she was certain that she would be overwhelmed by this new mystery.

It was nearly strong enough to make her stop the car and investigate, but her sense of duty overrode her curiosity. Subconsciously, she made her driver pick up speed as they drove away.

The farther away they drove, the less she felt from this new oddity in her life. They drove another five minutes and it was then that the bright energy disappeared and the human soul relaxed… another five and Sam couldn't feel either one of them at all.

The pale witch let out a sigh of relief as they finally reached the cul-de-sac where she had inhabited Rogue's body before being cast out by Death. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves turning to her unwilling driver and contemplating what she should do with him. The car drove until the familiar house was just a few feet away before coming to a complete stop.

On one hand, she could wipe his memory of this entire ordeal, but on the of chance that she failed it could lead the Facility to her location, which in turn would take them to Irene and Rogue and by Merlin she feared what they could do with a seer of her caliber and mutant who could absorb personalities with a touch!

On the other hand, she could alter his memories just enough so that he thinks he sold his car for whatever amount he thought appealing but was mugged by two men shortly after… again. Altering Memories was tricky but much less of a hassle than out right erasing them, because one memory leads to another and then another, until all that's left is a catatonic vegetable like Lockheart that would never completely recover.

It wasn't a hard choice… in fact it wasn't much of a choice at all. She would need a vehicle sooner rather than later and the rusted box of tin that she was in was as good as any other car…

She wrote a mostly pleasant memory for the man up to the point the he had lost the money. Drinking with friends, flirting with a beautiful stranger, selling the car. The works until there was nothing left change except for the last hour that Sam herself was involved. She didn't need to worry about him remembering any of it as his mind wasn't strong enough to detect the changes and even hypnotism wouldn't be able to dredge any of it up.

"Now, get out and find a place to sleep." Sam ordered once she was sure she was done. The man looked at her blankly and walked away into the night, but Sam didn't wait. She jumped out the second he opened his door and sprinted towards the back of the two story house. She was almost over the fence when her body collided with another who seemed to have a similar idea. Sam being the heavier of the two knocked the body back into yard.

"Rogue!" Sam quickly shouted pulling the girl into a hug, careful that none of her skin made contact with exposed flesh.

Rogue pushed her back with a scrunched up look in her face, there was a bit of relief there but that was quickly whipped away by a look of concern. What happened? You smell like a whole lotta of blood and some of it ain't even yours!"

"Not sure." Sam replied pulling her up as white van pulled by he truck. "But we really have to go!"

o0o0o0o0o

Scott Summers was still getting used to his position as leader of the X-Men, but that didn't stop him from questioning the play that Professor Xavier was trying to pull off. The team was divided and while he respected Logan's ability to track, Cyclops doubted the necessity of leaving to of the newest recruits under his care.

Sure, the Wolverine had been part of the last generation of X-Men but the new mutants needed to learn to take orders from Scott and separating them was in no way the wisest plan when it came to dealing with unknowns.

Now, Logan had been attacked and neutralized, the Professor was knocked out, and Jean was MIA… leaving it all chances of salvaging the mission to Scott.

That would have been fin if he weren't up against a telepath.

So, it was rather fortunate that things went as well as one could expect. The second Scott stepped out of the car, he lost control over his body but he was still very much aware of what was happening. The very next thing Scott knew was that he was repeatedly smashing the side of his head with the van's door.

Each impact made black spots invade his vision until he couldn't handle it anymore and lost consciousness.

o0o0o0o0o

The White Bishop's eyes fluttered closed for a split second as a wave of telepathic energy blew past her like a gentle wind.

Emma Frost watched patiently as some of the most powerful men and women in the world danced and drank with little care of what thoughts spilled out of their heads. She didn't care for the flashing lights or the deafening music but she had learned to ignore all that for the betterment of the Club. She stood at the top of the arching stairs case overlooking the sheep in their revelry. She looked beautiful in her white corset, white jeans, and white boots. Her straight blonde hair reached the small of her back, of course all of this was measured to lower peoples defenses so her telepathy could do its magic.

The Hellfire Club was one of the most prestigious and exclusive establishments in New York City. It was situated safely in the heart of the sleepless city, hidden with what most thought to be a cathedral. Only the ultra rich and powerful were allowed entry and even then it was only to the front door . They saw it as a club where they could play out their desires, where they could revel in their pleasure, and lose themselves for a single night.

It was glorious and one day, it would be hers.

She was the White Bishop but unlike the rest of the Council of the Chosen, whose loyalties were to their respective kings, Emma's loyalty belonged to none but herself. It was a shame that she had to play second fiddle to Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the New York branch, it would be the role she would have to play until she could figure out a way to completely remove him from the equation and eliminate Edward Buckman.

'Anything interesting?' Shaw's gravely voice echoed through her mind. There wasn't much to their partnership besides the need to keep the other alive for the moment. Shaw was the head of a business conglomerate along with his wife Lourdes Chantel, a spectacular teleporter. He funded Emma's little project in exchange for her ability recruit people to 'their' cause.

Though Shaw was certainly charismatic, Emma was undoubtedly the people person out of the two.

None the less Emma's eyes wandered across the crowd before landing on Anthony Stark. She watched as Stark chatted adamantly with a man with shoulder length chestnut hair. 'If you find machines interesting Anthony Stark is developing new variations of his armor while he talks functionality with Buckman's guest Lang.'

'Be mindful of Lang.' Shaw warned as his hand slid around his wife's waist. 'he has too many fingers in too many pies as is… a contract with Stark Industries could be more problematic than beneficial in the long run.'

'I concur.' Emma returned her complete focus onto Stark and with the slightest of efforts made his interest in the Sentinel program decrease substantially, as to not arise suspicion when he inevitably rejected Lang's proposal. 'It's done. Stark no longer cares for Lang's ravings.'

'Good.' The link was cut when Emma felt a hand touch her right shoulder.

Harry Leland , the one of the Black Bishops, he protected the club from legal and political attacks. She hated him just as much as he hated her, with that came a mutual understanding that they should interact only should the Club be in any actual peril. "Leland?" Leland was a fat, hairy piece of human filth that should have been killed off long ago but for some inexplicable reason was still alive.

"Frost, we have a situation some associate of yours from Britain wishes to speak with you in your office." He leaned in closer. "Take care of them quietly." To which she responded with an arched eyebrow and a withering glare. Leland returned it gladly before descending into the crowed… not quite disappearing due to his regrettable choice of nineteenth century dress and the fact that he was so large.

"Don't tell me how to do my job." She hissed at his retreating form. Emma gave one last glance around before departing from her post. She caught the eye Paris Serville, the current White Queen, gave her a slight nod of approval before pulling Buckman closer towards Shaw and his wife.

While stepping hall she prepared herself for anyone and everyone who could be behind the heavy oak door that led into her office. Her office shared the same Victorian design the mansion had, the red carpet decorated the entire floor, the black curtains with golden embroidery she had a painting of her mother above her desk, a copy of the original that was safely hidden away in a safe house in Salem Center, New York.

Now, Emma wasn't intimate with the inner workings of the magical community in the United Kingdom as her counterpart across the ocean, but she was aware of many of the major players in their little shadow civil war. There were three major factions, the 'Dark' with their purist beliefs that closely mirrored the totalitarian beliefs of the extremist Magneto, revolutionary, violent, bloody; the 'Light' which was too concerned with its own self image to be effective; an the Ministry who had alienated the 'Light', empowered the 'Dark, and had crippled themselves before the war even began.

That being said she could recognize Andromeda Tonks nee Black, skilled witch, Black Queen, and proxy to the Black House while they recovered their missing heir, along with her Black Bishop, Emma Steed, a woman in two-piece black dress with a chain wrapped around her hips, a telepath if the field around the two London branch members was any indication. It was through the witch's connection that Frost International took off successfully in Europe

"Miss Frost." Andromeda rose from her seat, her stony grey eyes ran up and down her body as if measuring how much the blonde Telepath had grown in the six years since they'd last met. Back then, Emma "You've moved up in the world."

" I have." Emma said tilting her head slightly to the right, a fake smile was firmly on her lips. Interaction between the branches of the club were rare to begin with, meetings between them were rarer still. In her four years as a club member she had only witnessed this once when Andromeda had requested Shaw to take the her in. " But I doubt you've gone through all the trouble of crossing an ocean just to check up on me."

Andromeda chuckled mirthlessly as she reached across Emma's desk and grasped a crystal decanter filled with some Scottish malt Edward Buckman had gifted her years ago. "Perceptive as always, my dear, I do need something from you."

"Really? What could a Bishop like me do that a Queen like you can't?" Andromeda poured two glasses, one for herself and the other for her companion.

"It's not that I can't," She said hesitantly, as if trying to find the right words.. "it's that I'm far too busy keeping the factions from undoing all the progress our organization has done in the kingdom, to dedicate the energy necessary to complete such an important task."

"What is the task?" Emma asked after a moment of contemplation.

"I need you to find a girl."

o0o0o0o0o

A/N: Here's chapter seven. hope you enjoyed and sorry if it's a little jumpy, i needed to cover a few POV in this chapter.

So, Andromeda is the Black Queen and the mystery of why she was talking to Dumbledore about finding Samantha Potter has been revealed! Writing Emma Frost was really fun and the role she is going to play in future chapters should please a few of you who were hesitant to see Sam on the X-Men. this third faction is necessary because there's no way Sam would join the Brotherhood.

But the Hellions are another story all together...

Please review.

Still looking for a beta if anyone is interested.

Be sure to check out my other works.

and Happy trails


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Link

 

It was a quiet flight back to Bayville and an oppressive air of defeat flooded the Blackbird. The Professor, to everyone’s surprise, hadn’t woken up since Jean heard the bird’s cry; nor had Logan spoken up from from his seat as his wounds slowly closed. Wolverine stank of the alcohol Kitty used to clean the slashes. Scott was wearing his ruby sunglasses, jean scowled deepened after looking over the serious bruising the telepath had left after forcing her friend to knock himself out with their own van; and even Jean looked bit gray after the explosive burst of psychic energy had taken her out.

 

Out of all the X-Men only three were physically unscathed and even they looked gloomy.

 

Storm, who was piloting the Blackbird, looked pensive as she flew through the black starry sky. In their rush to get to the two mutants before Mystique could get her scaly blue hands on them, the group had left the ever diplomatic Ororo to deal with the logistics while they searched. The weather manipulator had found Jean stumbling out of the hospital in her disorientation and proceeded to gather the member’s of her scattered team.

 

Kurt looked shaken but was no worse for wear. He paced up and down the stealth ship with a frown firmly placed on his usually easy going face. According to him he’d encountered the Second mutant and she was some sort of animal. He described her as unearthly pale, almost like chalk, with several black lines framing her face and running inward. She had claws just like Logan and apparently she could heal just as fast.  

 

Kitty looked shaken but there was a new determination that the older mutant hadn’t seen in the girl prior to their mission. She didn’t flinch when Kurt got too close nor did her brown eyes linger on Scott as adoringly as they used to. Saving Logan must have been quite the harrowing experience.

 

In the years Jean had known Logan, she had never seen him in such a state. How could anyone hurt a man that could heal rapidly so gravely? It was almost as he’d run into himself and lost. The red headed mutant knew that the Wolverine had been around longer than Professor Xavier had been alive, and anyone knew, and in his time on earth he had fought in a number of wars. There were wholes in his memory but the professor had told her that Logan had been one of the most skilled warriors he’d ever met… so, how had he been defeated?

 

She was far too mentally exhausted to come up with theories. Her head ached as if she’d been tossing boulders around the Danger Room but unlike the infrequent throb that accompanied the exertion this felt more like the persistent sting accompanied light sunburn. It was almost like a light burn on the tip of her tongue but spread over her psyche,

Jean, knowing that Ororo would be of little help with this kind of injury, hadn’t mentioned the extent of the damage to her teammates in hopes of maintaining some level of morale.

 

The telekinetic sighed.

 

It was always the same.

 

Jean had to hold back in order to avoid injuring her teammates confidence. When she was a child shad a friend that lived across the street her name had been Annie Richardson before her death. She had long auburn hair and always had a smile that brightened everyone’s day. One hot summer day, the two of them were playing soccer and Jean was winning. To her shame, Jena had been using her telekinesis to help her goal. Annie expressed her frustration by kicking the ball into the street. After a brief argument, her friend went to retrieve the ball only to be struck by a speeding car.

 

Annie died in Jean’s arms and to this day Jean remembered feeling those final agonizing moments of her friend’s life. Annie’s death left her catatonic. Her powers lashed out until her parents found the Professor. He helped her with her control and eventually to get over her friend’s death.

 

But this came with a trade off.

 

Since then, Jean hadn’t been able to awaken her telepathy and she restrained her telekinesis to the point that it was crippling. Jean feared being responsible for more death and a her team expanded she knew she couldn’t reveal the upper limits of mutant abilities. What if she lost control? What if they grew jealous of her power and decided to leave? Or worse: what if they feared her?

 

She had once overheard Professor Xavier tell Wolverine that he determined that Jean was the second most powerful mutant he had ever encountered. Back then, she only had to worry about alienating Scott, who cant control his powers… if he knew that she only pretended to struggle during training … she shuddered when she imagined his reaction.

 

For all the chest puffing Scott did when next to Logan, he was the most insecure of all the X-Men. People that encroached on his authority were treated with passive hostility, if for a second the others looked to Jean because of her power he would treat her coldly and she wasn’t sure she could handle that. Despite her relationship with Duncan, and for all his faults, Scott was her closest friend.

 

Looking back on the disastrous night there was only one thing that stuck out and it was a girl. Her hair was black as the night sky, her skin was pale as snow, and her eyes were a crystal blue. Jean spotted no marks that framed her face, nor did she notice the blood that marred the stranger’s skin but she did feel a feel something pull her towards the unknown mutant.

 

When their eyes met, for that split second, the world seemed to freeze for an eternity. The pain in her head disappeared momentarily and her heat seemed to skip a beat. It was the song of a bird that had disconnected her from the professor and, to Jean’s mounting realization, it was the song of another bird that came from left her standing.

 

‘ _Song_?’ Jean asked herself when she noticed her own wording. Initially, she registered the psychic blast as an explosion, then as she stumbled out of the hospital she started to think of it as a cry from an eagle, but the moment she connected the pale girl to the incident it became a song.

 

It was worrying development, but one she needed to hide if there was to be any chance of confronting them. Jean had taken the brunt of the song and managed to retain consciousness while Professor Xavier was knocked out. If she told this to the team, Scott would push to have her benched when dealing with these mutants, this would be done out of concern, and the Professor would agree.

 

Eventually, most would be on their side and prim, delicate, and proper Jean would have to watch her friends be beaten. She just knew that they would try their hardest to keep them apart. Professor Xavier would do it because he considered her to be an Omega-level mutant and it would spell disaster if she were subverted by some unknown telepath. Scott would do it because in his mind he would be protecting her. Kurt was shaken so he would agree; Kitty was infatuated with Scott, so, she would try to impress him by backing him up; Hank was in England helping one of sister institutes, he would abstain from voting until he had all the facts; Logan would vote against it, he was stubborn but he wouldn’t put himself at a disadvantage; jean couldn’t be sure how Ororo would vote.

 

The more she thought on the potential consequences of revealing what she knew, the stronger the burning sensation became. The young telekinetic was absorbed by them that she failed to notice the fiery orange energy that started accumulating around her.

 

“Jean!” Ororo called out pulling her away from her dark thoughts. They vanished and the energy evaporated with them. Jean was sitting near the back of the plane to help with the wounded if need be.

 

“Yes?” She answered shakily, Jean was completely oblivious to the events that had just occurred.

 

“I need you to pilot the Blackbird while I clear the sky for our arrival.”  

 

“Of course.” The younger mutant rose from her seat and carefully made her way towards the front of the plane. Jean thought nothing of the curious look Kitty sent her as she stumbled by nor did she see the clear concern clearly etched into Kurt’s face.

 

“I will help.” Kurt jumped up from his seat. With a loud Bamf he was sitting in the vacant co pilot seat. “Scott has been teaching me to pilot. I can aid you in our approach.” Jean didn’t need to be a telepath to now that he didn’t trust her in the state that she was in and in all honesty she couldn’t blame.

 

It had taken most of the flight for her to recover to the miserable state she was in. While this was true Jean couldn’t help being annoyed but she put on a false smile that looked far too strained but that could be blamed on the pain she was suffering.

 

“Go for it, Kurt.” She said as encouragingly as she could manage.

 

“Danke.” He responded with a toothy smile. “Scott always said that there mus always be two people piloting the Blackbird.”

 

That was lie.

 

Not that Scott had said it but the message itself was false. The Blackbird was designed by Hank to only need one crewmember in the case that the X-Men were captured and a rescue needed to be mounted. Scott probably told Kurt this to avoid him sneaking off for a joyride.

 

So she sat in the main seat and carefully took the steps for a safe descent. The clouds ahead of them opened up, creating a route for them to follow while hiding the plane from sight. Astronomers would probably marvel at the sight for a week before writing it off as some kind of unexplained phenomena.  

 

“Bring her in.” Ororo ordered.

 

The nose dipped slightly, the ship flew straight over the Mansion, and towards the water. Jean made a wide circle turn so she could line up with the hidden Cliffside entrance that was hidden behind an artificial waterfall. The next few seconds between entering the cave and the wheels making contact with the tarmac tense, landing had never been within Jeans comfort zone. So she placed a buffer over the ship to both slow them down and protect the crew in incase she miscalculated the entry.

 

The pain grew excruciating, so much so that she had to hold back a grunt.

 

For a second Jean blanked and in the next world began to peel away.

 

The telekinetic appeared at the edge of a pitch black lake, the dirt was the color of blood and the sky was dark but filled with reddish stars. She looked around searching for any landmark that could help her locate where she was but found that besides the lake, there was a forest made entirely of burnt trees and on the other side was a decrepit castle.  

 

The pain faded away as small waves washed over her bare feet. Jean sighed in relief before catching a figure watching her out the corner of her eye. It was the same girl that had absorbed most of her thoughts since the ill-fated mission to Mississippi but she was different, something feral. The blue eyes held a greenish tint, and there were black lines framing her face. Her chalk white skin was covered in small scars and her short black hair was wild. Jean could see all this due to the fact that this mystery girl was completely and utterly naked.

 

“Who are you?” The girl asked wearily. She crouched slightly as her defined muscles coiled. Ready to lash out if need be.

 

“It’s rude to ask others their name before introducing yourself.” Jean said before she could stop herself. She’d been far too annoyed with the mounting situation that she had forgotten to filter her words. Clearly she needed to pay more attention to the professor’s lectures on diplomacy. “ I apologize, my name is Jean Grey.”

 

The girl didn’t relax but she did, eventually, offer a single name. ”Samantha.” Which she assumed was the girl’s name. “What are you doing in our mindscape?”

 

The taller mutant noted the use of ‘our’ when referring to a mindscape but pretended to have missed it. “I’m not sure.” She answered raising her hands placatingly. ”I was on my way home when I appeared here.” All of it was true but she refused to elaborate the circumstances with a stranger who was probably responsible for Logan’s brutalization.

 

She paused, finally taking in the fact that Samantha stood across from her in state of complete undress. “Why are you naked?” Jean finally asked.

 

“Why are you?”

 

“I’m not naked.” She pointed out, but she did look down and saw that Samantha was telling the truth.

 

She was in fact naked.

 

Jean began to blush and she tried to cover up.

 

There was a snapping of twigs in the distance that caused Samantha to look away.

 

“You need to leave.” The shorter girl growled. She heard the same song echo from within the forest.

_‘I don’t know how.’_ She was about to say but before she could Samantha was beside her.

 

And with a quick shove she was submerged in the black water of the lake. She trashed around but nothing stopped her from sinking. Eventually her back touched the bottom and she was back in her own body. The Ship had come to halt and she saw Kurt holding a white napkin out for her.

 

“Your nose is bleeding.” He said helpfully.

 

Jean’s numb fingers released the ships steering wheel and took the offered gift. All the while her mind was absorbed by the things that she had just seen, her curiosity on the girl whose name she had just discovered doubled in intensity becoming something dangerously close to an obsession.

 

For whatever reason she was dragged into Samantha’s mindscape… Jean Grey fully intended to find out why.

 

o0o0o0o0o

 

They had been driving for hours and the tension silence between the two was palpable. Rogue was driving as if the devil himself was hot on their heels, in a truck that could barely push sixty miles per hour. It was almost as if driving was the only thing keeping her from breaking down and Sam could understand why. Discovering that you were some kind of power stealer and that Weapon X was hunting you would be taxing for anyone.

 

The strange duo had stopped by the younger Goth’s house to collect Irene but when they arrived the house had been ransacked and Rogue’s mother was nowhere to be found. Rogue, who was still suffering from Sam’s heightened senses, froze as soon as she had opened the door. Much like Sam when she tried to draw on her magic, her muscles tensed and coiled ready to either fight or runaway.

 

‘He was here.’ Rogue had mumbled lightly before darting into her home. Sam followed closely unsure what she was talking about. What they saw made her worry grow exponentially. There were claw marks, not unlike the one that the Other left in her wake, scattered throughout the home. In the few hours where Sam was conscious, the Facility bombarded her with videos of Weapon X in action. Each video showing different points in the berserker’s life but all ended in the death of Weapon X’s target. The scene before them had Sam’s temper flaring but she restrained it to comfort her friend.  

 

As sobs wracked through her friend Sam couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t put her finger on it. So, she strived to push her friend before she shut down. At the moment the witch felt guilty for leading her troubles to Rogue’s doorstep. But it was too late now to change what had occurred.

 

The two collected whatever canned food, water, and supplies they could fit in the camper and were now heading north, towards New York. Hogwarts had never taught of the greater magical world outside Europe but she did remember that during the days before things soured between herself and Nym that Tonks had mentioned that the Magical Congress of the United States of America’s, or MACUSA for short, Auror corpse was stationed somewhere within the city.

 

Sam knew that she had changed quite drastically in the two years she’d been trapped by the facility but she was still recognizable. Her once green eyes were now a crystalline blue, her skin had become the color of chalk and she was slightly taller than before… and actually looked healthy.

 

Well, maybe not immediately recognizable… but they wouldn’t immediately turn her away.

 

Sam looked away from Rogue and onto the dark back road. The witch briefly wondered if she had the same look on her face as the day that Nym had broken her heart but pushed those thoughts away. She couldn’t afford distraction, not when Rogue’s life was on the line.

 

By now they should be crossing into Tennessee and from there they would head into the next State, and the next until they were, more or less, safe within the arms of the protections of the government. Even then Sam doubted they would be safe. The facility and their backer’s influence was far reaching, it was little wonder that they had plucked her from the trains she favored, from under the Order of the Phoenix’s very nose, and kept her hidden for two years.

 

They had a number of agents that they would send after her and of these she could positively identify a handful of them. Crossbones was a skilled mercenary but he was just a man. He was almost as tall as Hagrid and just as wide, all of it was pure muscle. All his clothes were black, except for the white skull on his ski mask. He was partly responsible for the conditioning that blocked her magic; Black Mamba was a telepathic assassin that ensnared her targets with imagery of the ones they loved before telekinetically smothering them; Bushwaker was a cybernetically enhanced murderer who replaced his entire right arm with a four barreled machinegun. His face was almost completely covered in scars.

 

And then there was Kimura, who was guarding a sister project to the one run by Cornelius. Now, there was a monster unlike most she’d ever encountered. If she had to compare Kimura to a figure in her past only Bellatrix would fit the mold. Both were creatures of sadism and cruelty but at least Bellatrix did it out of a duty to her Lord. Sam hated the witch for killing Sirius but she hated Kimura for everything she had done to the other subject.

 

Every week the bitch would send her a video, which Cornelius would play for the Other One and her. Kimura took pleasure in showing Sam what she did to subject X-23. The last video that Sam was exposed showed Kimura removing the other girl’s left arm at the shoulder with a chainsaw.

 

With her right hand she massaged her left shoulder, her fingers dip beneath the neckline of her freshly borrowed tank top and land on the large black X tattooed on said shoulder. Sam was certain that the Other One knew more about X-23 than it told Sam. The Other One was driven by some sense of self preservation that impeded Sam from placing herself in mortal danger.

 

Part of her believed that she was responsible for all the problems that had befallen Rogue. She should have left sooner but she had felt safe in the small town with her new friend… and now she had dragged her new friend into the fire. In her mind she felt that the Wolverine had found her because of that psychic wave. It was she that those mutant hunter’s were after, and poor Rogue had been swept up in her mess. Now that being said, she did not believe that those mutants that they encountered were under the Facility’s control. Maybe they were a sect that despised themselves so much that they hunted others like Hounds.

 

“Ya alright?” Rogue suddenly spoke as the bright lights of a rundown gas station stood out from the darkened rural road. The younger mutant was forcing herself to smile. Sam gave her a questioning look to which she responded: “You haven’t spoken up since we got in the car.”

 

“There…there isn’t much that I can say…” Sam began but stopped unsure how she could explain the whirlwind of guilt that threatened to consume her. She wanted to apologize but didn’t know where to begin. Did she start by explaining the situation that she was in or did she wait until they wee properly rested before unloading on Rogue? Eventually the silence became too much and she felt pushed to say her next few words “I-I’m so sorry that I couldn’t stop them before they reached you.”

 

Rogue gave her a startled look, before it settled into a mask of… astonishment? It stayed there for half a second before settling onto something akin to understanding. “That wasn’t your fault.” Which was as far as she knew true. Sam had been sweet since they began housing her after the whole running over incident. Hell, Rogue was rather happy that she’d hit the girl with her truck. If her mom hadn’t insisted on taking the long way home then clawed monster that was hunting and his croniesher would have gotten her. “Ya had no way of knowing they’d show up, Sugar.”

 

Sam blinked at freshly bestowed nickname. No one had given her a nickname before. She had always insisted on being called Sam as she felt that her name was a tad bit long, but no one had ever gone through the trouble of coming up with one… well… except for the Daily Prophet… and they certainly didn’t count.

 

“Look.” Rogue spoke up when Sam didn’t. “Ya might’ve bee running from them ya cant hold yourself responsible for them taking my Ma. So I say to hell with‘em, we’ll get to New York and get help. Then we can get my mom back.”

 

For the longest while Sam debated telling her the entire story but she that if she did the little hope that her friend had accumulated since leaving her home would vanish. But she was right about one thing;

 

They were getting Irene back.      

 

 

o0o0o0o0o

 

Far to the North, near the pole was an asteroid made of pure metal floated miles up in air and above an empty citadel waiting for it completion. This was Asteroid M, the Arc that would hold the best and brightest of the Mutant community before wiping out the threat that humans were. Within this place only the chosen Acolytes of Magneto were allowed to dwell. Raven was tolerated here but nothing more.

This was made clear by the sideways glances the red robed elite sent her way. Once upon a time they had all stood together as members of the Brotherhood but that had been before the war with Xavier and his X-Men.    

 

Mystique grimaced as Magneto’s Apostles dumped Destiny at her feet.

The blind woman had visible bruises on her exposed body and was clutching her head with enough force that Mystique was worried that she would hurt herself further. It saddened her heart to see her former lover in such a state but currently the shapeshifter held little sway over their leader when he was in a mood.

Irene had betrayed them and now the Key to saving all mutants was missing.

 

She helped the seer up and gently guided her to the hard of her cell. When Irene was resting and yellow eyes were done memorizing every new detail of Destiny’s face, Raven asked the question that had been plaguing her since she’d realized that Irene was Happy that Anne Marie had gotten away.

 

“Why?”

 

“You know why I did it, Raven, you know I’ll never tell them where our daughter is.”

 

Even without her prophetic powers, Irene knew that Magneto only saw he little Rogue as weapon to use against his enemies. So when she saw the opportunity to get her away from that horrid, broken man she took it. It was Fate that they had run into the Avatar of the Augurey, just as it had been Fate that Xavier would find the Avatar of the Phoenix before Magneto. The two halves of the aspects of the universe would gravitate towards each other and change the very face of the Earth.

 

It was almost ironic that the safest place for her daughter would be next to a cosmic being.

 

“You could have told me!” Raven shouted bringing her back to reality. “You could have told me that you were going to do this! I would have come back, I would have helped you raise her, I could have kept her away from all this!”

 

Irene shook her weakly. Tears gathered at the edges of he vacant eyes.

 

“No, you wouldn’t have.” The seer said with a tired sigh. “You would have left to follow Magneto and this would have happened again. You didn’t leave his side after he experimented on your son. I would not risk our daughter suffering the same fate because of your bind devotion.”

 

That shut Mystique up.

 

Kurt had been a wound spot that had never truly healed, only ever scabbing over only to open when brought back up.

 

“Do you really think so little of me?”

 

“Every path you follow is to further his vision of the world.”

 

Was the last thing she said before succumbing to exhaustion.

 

Raven was incensed, so much so that she had no choice but to leave before she did something she would undoubtedly regret. She was almost to her plane when she encountered her least favorite of Magneto’s elite, Amelia C. Voght, or Oasis. She could teleport by turning her body into vapor, which made her perfect for assassination.

 

Oasis used to be one Charles’ most loyal followers but that changed after he ran off with some human. She betrayed him to Magneto near the end. Her betrayal had caused the death of several powerful mutants, including the legendary Thunderbird.

 

Raven had no patience for traitors. Spies infiltrated organizations out of a sense of duty but traitors were unpredictable elements driven by emotions or greed. With Amelia she couldn’t tell and that worried her.

 

“You failed him once again, Mystique, pray that there will not be a third such failure or you will not live to see his wrath.”

 

“Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep.” Was Raven’s curt response as she continued to walk by. Teleporters were difficult to deal with but not impossibly so, after all, Azazel had been much more skilled before Raven had been forced to put the mad dog down. “Some would consider that inviting death, Oasis.”

 

“Do not worry, Raven, I am fully capable of fulfilling my promises, just as you are incapable of fining children before Xavier snatches them away. “ With that final jab Oasis faded into mist, allowing Mystique to finally pass.

 

Raven stepped onto her aircraft without spearing the other mutant another thought. She needed to find Anne Marie and the other mutant before the others recruited them into their causes. But where would she begin?

 

o0o0o0o0o

 

A/N: Here’s chapter eight. This was all about the aftermath of Rogue Recruit. Sorry its so tardy but I had a few difficulties along the way

 

To respond to one guest reviewer observation: The reason I believe that Hellfire club didn’t start a mutant island like Genosha was because they would rather rule than hide. Everything they did was done in the shadows to avoid human attention. Considering what happens to Genosha it’s not the best idea either. Most mutants there were massacred.

 

To respond to another guest reviewer: no, adoption does not give magic. There are mutants in X-Men who can wield magic, among them is Magik, Colossus younger sister, and Scarlet Witch.

 

  

 

    


	9. Wild Hunt

Aug Chapter 9: Wild Hunt

 

Wanda Maximoff rested her eyes as she lay in her padded cell in Saint Marcus Asylum for the Criminally Ill, Southwest Kentucky. It was dark and mold filled room, secured by heavy iron vault doors that belonged in a Bank instead of an Asylum but Wanda was special and thus needed special accommodation. This solitary room had been her home for the past six years. In two years she would be free to hunt Erik and Pietro Lehnsherr and put them both in ground as they deserved.

 

The dark haired mutant spent her hours obsessing over the multiple ways that she would painfully end their miserable existences. She once called them family but after their betrayal, after six years of abuse at the hands of doctors trying to fix whatever her former father and brother framed her for, after six years of isolation she could no longer call them such.

 

Wanda would be the first to admit that she had been an angry child but that was to be expected after Erik had ripped her from her mother’s arms and forced to live in a city that was not her own or learn language that she did not know.

 

Her mother was Romani, or Gypsy as most knew them, and so were her people and she had joyfully lived amongst them eight happy years of her life before Erik stole her away. For two years she lived with the silver haired father and son, with them she learned anger, hatred, and envy.

 

Erik treated her former brother like his heir. Wanda, he treated as a burden. She was forbidden from practicing the arts her Mother had dutifully taught her, her charms were burned, her herbs flushed. Every time she tried to gather materials Erik’s son would rat her out, leaving her to stew miserably in a cold unfamiliar house.

 

Pietro was arrogant and entitled, stealing her toys and hiding them away while Erik did nothing. He believed that only the strong survived… yet how could she grow strong without the support of her family?

 

Sadly, Erik did not think her worth her time so he had Melanie Bird, a psychologist and psychiatrist, to put her in this cage. With her aid and several animal corpses, they had enough to keep the last Scarlet Witch on a short leash. As it was, she wouldn’t be able to leave the doctor’s ‘tender’ care until she reached majority.

 

By tender, Wanda meant the twenty-three hours of isolation, he beatings that followed if she didn’t take her drugs, and leashes that they used to dragged her around to back of the building… were they would do unspeakable things to her body.

 

They tried to break her but men who feared her power, like Erik and Pietro, would not cow her, Wanda would destroy them all.

In the darkness, where none could see, the Scarlet Witch began to chant. A cursed chant, one that her mother had not taught her, but one she had learned from the whispers that buzzed through her ears at night. They spoke in tones that elicited horror but as time went on, and days slipped into months and months into years, they became the only way she knew that time was passing.

 

“Nyctophobia.” Wanda heard herself mutter. The fear of night, no, that wasn’t quite right. Wanda didn’t fear the night as much as what was in it. “Fear of night, fear of not night.” She hadn’t seen the sun in years as those that kept her prisoner only took her when the moon hung high and the others were asleep.

 

She poured her anger and hatred into the chant. Pushing the comforting memories of her mother, of her people, of a time before Erik into the far reaches of her mind so they wouldn’t be tainted by the dark magic she was about to preform.

 

They kept her bound from head to toe. A brownish, filth covered straitjacket, that at one point had been white, were tied behind her back in a manner that would make the necessary hand motions impossible but the guard that had bound her hadn’t been careful when he strapped her down. She relaxed her wrists and slowly tugged each hand free.

 

She did not whimper when the fingers in her hands made popping noises, Wanda’s blue eyes steeled in determination. When they were free, bones popped into place and in dazzling display of magic, she tore the fabric off her torso in a glow of red light that left her immaculate, if not naked.

 

Except for a half formed headpiece that began to materialize the moment Wanda began to channel her power.

 

The Scarlet Witch moved to the center of the room and looking at the south-facing wall. Wanda extended her arms out and moved them in the circle her fingers danced and her wrists moved as she began the chant in the language of the Great Old Ones.

 

“Ph'nglui n'ghft ot ah'mglw'nafh yogshugg, ep ahmgn'ghft nwngluii ot shub-niggurath, fhalma ot yeeogognor gof'nn, Y' ymg' uln mgepmgvulgtlagln ehye! Kierrok!” _In the darkness of a dying moon, under the shining eyes of the Black Goat of the Forest, mother of a thousand children, I summon you Damned One! Kierrok!_

A wave of magic erupted from her being. It shot through the iron doors and carried through the flickering hallways like a wail of insanity and misery. As it passed it infected every single inhabitant with pieces of Wanda’s rage. The patients howled like beldam and a few of the guards had to be restrained and sedated. The few guards that were not immediately driven to madness scrambled to reach Wanda’s door.

 

When they managed to unlatch the locks, the Scarlet Witch was nowhere to be found but that did not mean that the cell was empty. In her place was a large demonic dragon like beast with thick, red scales, sharp rows of teeth, and twisting, winding black horns. The creature’s maw was wide open as its single large red eye studied each and every man and found only fractions of his prey within each of the mortals.

 

“What the hell is that?” One of them shouted in fear. His soul was the most corrupted out of all of them.

 

 ** _“I am Kierrok, little animal, Kierrok the Shatterer of Souls, Kierrok the Slayer of Men and I have come for you this night, humans.”_** It growled. The monster’s voice was deep and umbra. ** _“For your lives and for your souls!!”_** The demon’s leathery wings extended to half-mast, making the beast look larger than it was. Armed with chattel prod and poles meant to restrain Wanda.  

****

The screams that followed were drowned out the howls and shouts of the inmates; safe behind heavy iron doors… the guards had no such protection.

 

o0o0o0o0o

 

Twenty miles away, Rogue and Sam had parked off the side of a lonely, decrepit back road miles away from any nearby town or cities. The night was dark as the moon in its crescent phase and Sam could see the stars for as far as her blue eyes could see. It was a beautiful night, peaceful as her life ever managed to be. Despite the foliage, the small clearing reminded her of the Burrow… especially because Rogue snored just as loud as Ginny used to when Sam stayed over3. As it was she was resting on the roof of the dilapidated truck.

 

One of the two comforters they had bought in one of their many stops as they traversed the hidden paths of America. This was mostly on Sam’s insistence but Rogue didn’t exactly disagree. Neither one wanted to run into the X-Men nor anyone that wanted to capture Sam, so they tried to hide their trail as best as they could. They back tracked, tried to make it look like they were heading west instead of northeastward. It was why they had taken so long to traverse Tennessee and were just now entering Kentucky.

 

Not that she minded.

 

Sam loved traveling, it was something that she had only started doing after Sirius had died and even then she didn’t get to do it for long. She almost wished she had a broom, almost. As soon as her mind wandered to the more spectacular part of her life her muscles began to seize.

 

Snapping away from thoughts of magic, Sam continued to star gaze but the warm feeling of nostalgia

 

But it was not the beauty of the night, nor was it the feeling of nostalgia, or the conditioning she had suffered through that kept her awake in such a beautifully peaceful night. It was the fact that she couldn’t quiet her mind or her thoughts that irked her to no end. When she closed her eyes all she could see was the burnt twisted mindscape where the Other resided. This internal scar kept her from escaping from the waking nightmare that came to life every time she caught a glimpse at her reflection.

The old, rusted truck that Sam had acquired nearly a week ago and the camper that came with it were hidden behind thick trees and bushes.

 

She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a long sleeved green shirt. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt. The fall colors had overtaken the green on all sides, even in the darkness she could make out the fiery blaze that adorned the trees with a myriad of a thousand shades of flame. If a passerby were to spot Sam’s unmoving form they may have confused her for corpse or a scene out of Snow White, much to her annoyance. Skin as white as snow, hair as black as night… all she was missing were the Ruby colored lips and she was set.

 

Sam huffed and sat up from her perch. Oh, how she wished she had Hermione by her side… The curly haired witch would, after extensive research, know exactly what Sam needed to do. For example the mutant was sure that Hermione would have already planed out multiple routs that would get them to the American Ministry without being spotted by the groups that were hunting them. Her analytical mind would be invaluable compared to Sam’s own.

 

As it was Sam was in quite the pickle. If or, more optimistically, when they made it to New York, how exactly would she explain that the supernatural was real… but then again… would it be that much of a leap from a Mutation that absorbed both powers and identities?

 

Whatever the conclusion might have been became irrelevant as a horrid scream pierced the night. In an instant, Sam had slid herself from the roof of the car and was pulling on the driver’s side handle, but froze when she heard the scream once more but this time Sam could distinguish human qualities to it. Through the psychic bubble, that had arisen the moment she sprung into action, Sam felt wave after wave of agonized emotion coming from somewhere beyond the trees.

 

In all her life, Sam hadn’t felt anything quite like this. The closest she had ever come to something like this was when the Dementors were swarming Sirius and her.  This was what had made her freeze, not because it reminded her of the unearthly sound that came from a Banshee’s wail, but because she was literally fighting herself.

 

The Other, feeling that Sam wanted to see if she could help the source of the scream, was trying to wrestle control away from the telepathic witch. It began as slight discomfort but it quickly spread like a fire though her body. It nearly brought her to her knees but yet she resisted. Sam retaliated by pushing back the burning sensation, isolating it beneath the base of her skull, and sending the feedback to the Other directly.

Between the two of them the pain threshold was unbelievably high but a second in reality could be days within the mindscape. Time lost all meaning under those glowing red stars and the field of bones that sat between the Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake, As the battle for supremacy continued the sound of screams died down until all Sam could hear with her keen ears were broken whimpers of a wounded woman.

 

With each sound, Sam’s resolve grew exponentially and she was able to snuff her inner fire. Once free of her turmoil, she charged into the darkness with only pained sounds as her guide. She ran faster than she ever thought possible, stumbling once or twice on ill placed roots but never loosing her footing.

 

The closer she got, the stronger the scent of blood became. From there it wasn’t long until Sam found herself in an artificial clearing. The reason that she knew that this was man made was due to a series of scorch marks branching out from the center of the field where a body lay trembling.  

 

What she saw and what she felt nearly brought the pale mutant to her knees. The body on the floor belonged to a girl, younger undoubtedly younger than Sam by at least a year, huddled in the fetal position. She was malnourished, much like Sam had been before Sirius put the fear of god in the Dursleys, and they were bruises that marred her sickly pale skin, her eyes were bloodshot and there eye bags that indicated her lack of sleep. Her hair was covered with filth but it looked to be black or at least dark brown. The only thing she had on in the manner of clothing was strange M shaped headpiece that kept her hair from her face.

 

But there was something that made her muscles lock in the air, something she had given up on ever feeling again after her kidnappers were done with her.

 

Sam felt Magic… yet for some unknown reason her body did not stop until it was cradling the girl’s shaking form. The headpiece cluttered to the ground while Sam easily lifted her off the ground but yet the older witch paid it no mind. Each step felt heavy as they made their way to the camper.

 

She would have to wake Rogue once she got back… ask her for some of the clothes they bought for her…. Because Sam was sure that the two were about the same size.

 

An eternity later she reached the truck and found a worried Rogue looking like she had just roused from her slumber. She was wearing her usual outfit, the one she had brought with her from her house. Oh, and she was very angry, Sam didn’t need to be a telepath to know that, but her expression instantly softened when she saw the state of the mysterious girl in her arms.

 

“Dammit, Sam.” Rogue cursed under her breath as she ducked into the camper and held the rusted door open for them. As Sam passed her by her companion Rogue whispered: “Next time you get a hankering to wandering around, you better tell me, or I swear... ”

 

Sam was lucky that there was no real bite in the Goth’s tone. Rogue could hold a grudge. Evidence towards this conclusion was apparent everyday when she muttered about the mutant hunters and how they had ruined her life.

 

“I will.” Sam apologized, placing the girl onto the only bed. “Do you know any first-aid?”

 

“Sure do, Sugar.” Rogue moved passed her, popping the overhead compartment and grabbing a red bag with a white cross on it. “Just help mah clean her up an I can start bandaging her up.”

 

o0o0o0o0o

 

Emma Frost did not like doing favors for other branches of the Hellfire Club. They tended to be far more trouble than they were worth but when Andromeda Tonks nee Black approached her she couldn’t very well say no. The woman was a literal witch and held tremendous influence in their circles and was rumored to be next in line for the position of Lord Imperial once Sir Gordon Phillips passed on. As such it would be in her best interest to maintain her a good relationship with the woman.

 

As a result, the current White Bishop stood in front of some of the best trackers whose services she could acquire on short notice. Of these five figures at least two would complete the mission without much trouble. From left to right stood: Domino, Deapool, Sage, Silver Sable, and Taskmaster.

 

Silver Sable, true name Silver Sablinova, and her Wild Pack made their reputation hunting down war criminals. Hopefully, they would put their expertise to good use finding the missing Samantha Potter. Though only human, she was in peak physical condition and Emma did not hesitate to send her against super human enemies. In her tenure as a retainer for the Hellfire Club she had yet to fail. Silver Sable had white hair and had a rather average height, but that did not mean that she was to be underestimated. She was a master martial artist and proficient in most forms of weaponry. She wore a signature white cat suit that was armored over vital points.

 

Taskmaster, true name Tony Masters, was newer but equally as reliable. He did not posses the X-gene but he did have a superhuman ability to copy and understand his opponent’s movements. He was an excellent strategist and she had little doubt that he would succeed if Silver Sable failed. The man carried a long sword and a shield. He dressed in a blue jumpsuit and a white cloak. Taskmaster hid his face with a skull mask.

 

Sage, true name unknown, was a mutant Technopath. Her ability to connect to machinery through the World Wide Web and her capacity to process, retain, and understand data was unparalleled. With her help finding Miss Potter would be considerably easier… especially if her suspension about that she was taken by more unsavory elements, possibly HYDRA due to their involvement with Grinderwald and his abolitionist movement, was correct. She was a rather short woman with a visor connected to her network. She was responsible for patching the Hellfire Club in Xavier’s Cerebro.

 

Domino, Neena Thurman, was her trump card. Her mutation allowed her an incredible amount of control over probability, in other words when dealing with Domino nothing was left to chance. Her chalk white skin and signature circular black tattoo over her left eye had become a signature in the mercenary world. Next to her was an uninvited tagalong she would have rather never laid eyes on.  

 

Deadpool, Wade Wilson, was unpredictable and left a staggering amount of collateral damage in his wake and worse of all was the fact that in more than a few occasions his objectives were left unfulfilled. That being said he proved to be an effective distraction if Domino made him focus enough he could be, dare she say it? effective.

 

“You each know the job.” Emma spoke loudly and clearly. “Find Samantha Potter; bring her here and get paid. Whether you do this individually or as a group matters little to me but you should be aware that the your pay will remain unchanged. Ten Million upfront; twenty for whomever brings the girl here alive and well.” She paused locking eyes with each of the assembled mercenaries. “bring her back in under a month and I will add another million. Grab a file and be on your way,”

 

“Get the girl, get paid.” Taskmaster mumbled before nodding. “I’ll get it done.” He grabbed a file flipped through it and left.

 

“My Wild Pack will not fail.” Silver Sable confirmed as she grabbed one of the files on the table. She didn’t even bother opening it before she followed Taskmaster’s lead and left.

 

“This will be an interesting case.” Sage nodded and exited as the other two had done.

 

Domino had a cocky smirk on her face as she grabbed a file but that left her face the second she caught a glimpse of the girl’s picture. Whatever she was thinking was quickly hidden away in a mass of meaningless drivel. This of course peaked Emma’s curiosity but she didn’t feel it was prudent to push the issue… that was until Deadpool brought it up in the least tactful way imaginable.

 

“I was struck by lighting, walkin' down the street  
I was hit by something last night in my sleep  
It's a dead man's party who could ask for more?  
Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door… wait a second!“ Wade had been singing until he made a connection. He gasped dramatically and began waiving his hands excitedly. “”OMG, Dom. Is this kid, like, your sister or something, cause, holy chimichangas she looks just like… no. Wait… she’s your kid!” At Domino’s non response Deapool continued to escalate. “You had a kid… and you didn’t tell me! what kind of best-“

 

The gunshot that silenced the merc with a mouth was loud enough that it left a ringing in the White Bishop’s ear. “Not another word, Asshole.”

 

Emma made a note to contact Domino later, she needed to know that this wouldn’t interfere with the job but the fact that she didn’t want to ruin her clothes stopped her from doing it now.

 

o0o0o0o0o

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A lot of things happening in this chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> First up Kierrok: He’s an old obscure X-Men villain that made his irst appearance happened shortly after Thunderbird’s death in the comic. I’m using his original draconic appearance for the purpose of introducing more mystical elements of the X-Men mythos into the story.
> 
>  
> 
> Wanda: I know her first appearance in the show isn’t until season two but I felt that it be good to get her out of the asylum now so she could grow as character before Magnet uses mastermind to fuck her mind up. I also wanted to add to the Wanda Erik conflict. Give her a real reason to hate the man as much as she does that it drove to near insanity.
> 
>  
> 
> The Mercenaries: I honestly thought that it would be more realistic than Emma assembling her Hellions and hunting Sam down

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: And thus begins the re-write of X-13.
> 
> I've honestly bee trying to continue X-13 but I just couldn't nothing I wrote felt like it fit to the story so I finally decided to begin a re write and I honestly don't regret it.
> 
> As most of you who've read X-13 story have probably noticed I've changed thing quite a bit. Samantha is a bit different this time around. I haven't really changed her abilities all that much really, just how they work. Samantha has a split personality like Typhoid Mary and her abilities work pretty much the same way.
> 
> Sam is a Telepath while Samantha is more like Wolverine. The idea to make Sam a telepath stemmed fro Domino's own ability, both are mental abilities only that Sam is conscious of it while Domino can't really control it.
> 
> Hope you enjoy, please review
> 
> Happy trails.


End file.
